With its successful Counter-Strike and Rainbow Six Siege IPs, BLAST has become a big name in the esports industry. To expand their domain even further, BLAST Esports has signed a multi-year deal with American video game company Epic Games. With their partnership, BLAST Esports will take charge of Epic Games' Fortnite Championship Series (FNCS) and Rocket League Championship Series (RLCS), starting in 2024.
In total, BLAST will be responsible for four popular esports titles, including CS2, Rainbow Six Siege, Rocket League, and Fortnite. BLAST has a fair share of experience hosting competitive Fortnite as evidenced by 2021's FNCS All-Star Showdown and FNCS Grand Royale events.
BLAST Will Host The Upcoming Fortnite Championship Series (FNCS) and Rocket League Championship Series (RLCS) starting in 2024
BLAST's presence in Fortnite esports isn't new since they were part of the FNCS Global Championship held in October 2023 at The Royal Arena, Copenhagen, for a massive prize pool of $4 million. With their multi-year deal, BLAST will run all operations of competitions, including event production and marketing of the RLCS and FNCS, alongside handling commercial rights of both games' competitive broadcasts and events. Leo Matlock, Chief Business Officer for BLAST, expressed his excitement over the multi-year deal with Epic Games:
"We are immensely proud to announce this momentous multi-year deal with Epic Games. We believe this partnership represents the future of competitive gaming, where organisations like BLAST are able to work in tandem with world-leading publishers to create incredible experiences for players and teams to compete at the top level in front of fans all over the world."
Matlock talks about the positives of their collaboration with Epic Games and the addition of the Fortnite Championship Series and Rocket League Championship under their umbrella:
"Pioneering positive change in esports has always been part of the BLAST DNA and this announcement is an amazing continuation of that journey. Working together with the world's biggest game publishers to elevate and grow their competitive properties has been a huge area of focus for BLAST in recent years. This collaboration is testament to that hard work and we are delighted to expand our relationship with Epic Games by operating the Rocket League Championship Series in addition to the Fortnite Championship Series."
2024 will be a pivotal year for BLAST. BLAST will not only add new games to their esports calendar but new regions as well. Last month, BLAST announced their new IP, The Draft, in partnership with Nodwin Gaming to uplift the CS2 scene in India and Pakistan. The Draft will feature open CS2 open-qualifiers in India and Pakistan, followed by group stages. The top three teams from each country will fly to Kaula Lumper, Malaysia, for February's Super Six LAN event, featuring a $50,000 prize pool.