The Imperial roster got a chance to play at the BLAST Open Fall 2025, even though they initially failed to qualify. The organizers' decision was a result of applying Valve's rules, which paved the way for the Brazilian team to enter the tournament. For fans, this is an intriguing twist — it's not often in esports that a team replacement during the qualifying stage leads to a new participant in the main event.

Valve's official rule 3.2.5(c) states: if a team declines an invitation to the qualifiers for a specific tournament, they lose the right to participate in it in the future. This is exactly what happened with paiN Gaming , who did not accept a direct invitation to the South American closed qualifier for BLAST Open Fall 2025. However, they later received an invite as a replacement team, which, according to rule 3.2.5(c), leads to their exclusion.

Shuffles in South America
After paiN's exclusion, their slot, according to the VRS ranking, was transferred to Legacy . This gives Legacy a direct invitation, and their spot from the closed qualifier went to the finalists of the South American selection — the Imperial team. Now Imperial , Legacy , and 14 other top teams will compete for a spot at BLAST Open Fall 2025 through the Closed Qualifier, which will be held online from August 27 to September 1, 2025, with only 6 teams advancing to the main event in London .

This reshuffle changes the dynamics of the entire South American selection. Imperial , being a team with significant experience and fan support, will get a chance to showcase themselves on a major stage. For the region, it's a rare occurrence when two teams receive unexpected upgrades in their positions.