BLAST Paris Major RMR will have only one open qualifier. Previous Major had four

BLAST revealed the qualifying schedule for Paris Major RMR. One of the most notable changes is the reduction of open qualifiers from four to just one. The changes were announced on the official website.

This was done after Valve implemented regional rankings and the closed qualifier stage. Teams positioned 1-16 on February 12 in their charts will get direct invites to this stage of the pre-RMR competition.

BLAST Paris Major RMR qualification schedule

Europe:

• Open qualifier: February 13-15
• Closed qualifiers A and B: February 15-20
  

Americas:

• Open qualifiers for SA and NA: February 21-23
• Closed qualifiers for SA and NA: February 23-27

ZywOo: "For apEX and me, it will perhaps be the first and only Major in France and Paris"

Asia:

• Open qualifiers for Asia, China, and OCE: February 15-17
• Closed qualifiers for Asia, China, and OCE: February 17-20
  
• Open qualifier for Middle East: February 22-24
  
• Closed qualifiers for Middle East: February 24-27
  

RMRs:

• Every region: April 3-13

Previous RMRs had four open qualifiers, including Rio and Antwerp Majors. The new format echoes the past experience with regional minors, which had closed qualifiers before them. The only difference is that invites are now based on Valve's rankings. Closed qualifier helps established teams skip the open ones, which may become an unnecessary burden like it was with Astralis before Rio Major.

Buster played only 11 matches on FACEIT during half a year of inactivity in VP