BLAST Pro Series will head to Istanbul this summer for the second iteration of the tournament.

The inaugural tournament took place in Copenhagen in 2017 and will now move on to Istanbul for 2018. It will be the first time that Istanbul has hosted a major esports tournament, and as a result the first time the world’s best Counter-Strike teams will head to Turkey.

The first event in Copenhagen broke records for Danish national TV, DR3, and surpassed the Olympics, the X Games and the Eurovision in the channel’s viewership. With more than 2.5 million unique viewers on Twitch, another 2.5 million online viewers reported in China alone, TV broadcast to more than 180 million households worldwide and a social media reach of more than 60 million, the BLAST Pro Series had an exceptionally strong debut that it will look to build on.

Bettina Kuperman, CEO Impact34, BLAST Pro Series Istanbul Event Director said: “We are thrilled to welcome BLAST Pro Series to Istanbul. The format and set-up is without comparison the most exciting new edition to the esports scene. It’s an electrifying experience with 6 of the best Counter-Strike teams in the world competing live on stage in front of more than 10.000 spectators and live audiences all over the world, and the fans in Istanbul are in for an amazing experience!”

Engin “MAJ3R” Kupeli, Space Soldiers, an invited team, said: “We all watched BLAST Pro Series in Copenhagen and the event and tournament looked really awesome. The concept of all teams playing in the arena is really cool from both a fan and a player perspective, and the atmosphere was so intense.”

He continued: “When we received the invitation to BLAST Pro Series, Istanbul, we all got so motivated. To step up on that stage with the best teams in the World in front of our home crowd. It will be so intense, and we can’t wait to present world class Counter-Strike to the Turkish audience. And to present the Turkish audience to the World”.

Jordi Roig, Executive Producer of BLAST Pro Series stated: “We created BLAST Pro Series to cater for the live fans and the viewers. The format leaves nothing to chance, and as a fan, broadcaster and partner, you know which teams you will see live on stage as the full program is announced well in advance.

He added: “We are very excited to welcome Istanbul to BLAST Pro Series. Turkey is one of the fastest growing esports countries with more than 30 million esports enthusiasts and Turkish teams are steadily climbing to the top of the world. Istanbul was a natural choice for us and we have no doubt that it will be another record-breaking event.”

Esports Insider says: Bet it’ll be lovely and warm over in Istanbul! Another cool place for a tournament by RFRSH and we’ve seen how fanatical the fans can be over local League of Legends so the hype for Counter-Strike should be awesome. More details coming soon – and we need to top up our tan…