M80 leads pack of NA teams through BLAST Rising open qualifier
M80 stood out the tallest of the pack of 5 teams that advanced past the BLAST Rising NA Spring open qualifier.
M80 has advanced to the closed qualifier along with MCS Gaming, Exceritus, Immigrants Peek, and MIGHT. They will play against the likes of Party Astronauts, FlyQuest RED, and Mythic for four spots in the main event.
Just the appearance of M80 in the open qualifier can be confusing to fans who remember the team making waves on the international scene at the end of last year. However, the team called on German player Nils "k1to" Gruhne to stand in for American Ethan "reck" Serrano at the start of this season. By fielding a German core at two events, M80 completely fell off the Americas VRS ranking board, meaning they had to play through the open qualifier, rather than receive a rankings-based invite to the closed qualifier.
The open qualifier is the first step in a long path to BLAST Open Spring. The top four from the closed qualifier will advance to the NA main event, and only one winner of the main event will make it to BLAST Open Spring. The closed qualifier matches start tomorrow, February 8.
