HLTV.org is now live from the Ulker Arena as the first set of matches are about to get under way at BLAST Pro Series Istanbul.

The $250,000 event, which will have six teams, begins today with the first two rounds of the group stage. The round-robin, best-of-one group will feature three simultaneous matches in all rounds.

The teams have arrived at the venue earlier to prepare for round one games, which will be Space Soldiers vs. Ninjas in Pyjamas, MIBR vs. Cloud9, and Virtus.pro vs. Astralis.

Istanbul is hosting its first big CS:GO event

For the complete schedule, the format, the talent lineup, and prize distribution, check out our viewer's guide. We have also conducted an interview with Robin "⁠flusha⁠" Rönnquist ahead of his Cloud9 debut.

Last but not least, make sure to follow us on Twitter to stay up to date with the tournament, as we'll be posting updates regularly on social media during the tournament.

Cloud9 #21 Robin 'flusha' RönnquistTyler 'Skadoodle' LathamWilliam 'RUSH' WierzbaTimothy 'autimatic' TaMaikil 'Golden' Selim MIBR #4 Gabriel 'FalleN' ToledoTarik 'tarik' CelikFernando 'fer' AlvarengaJake 'Stewie2K' YipMarcelo 'coldzera' David Virtus.pro #28 Filip 'NEO' KubskiJarosław 'pashaBiceps' JarząbkowskiMichał 'MICHU' MüllerPiotr 'morelz' TaterkaMichał 'snatchie' Rudzki Astralis #1 Andreas 'Xyp9x' HøjslethPeter 'dupreeh' RasmussenLukas 'gla1ve' RossanderNicolai 'device' ReedtzEmil 'Magisk' Reif Ninjas in Pyjamas #9 Patrik 'f0rest' LindbergChristopher 'GeT_RiGhT' AlesundDennis 'dennis' EdmanJonas 'Lekr0' OlofssonFredrik 'REZ' Sterner Space Soldiers #39 Engin 'MAJ3R' KüpeliIsmailcan 'XANTARES' DörtkardeşBuğra 'Calyx' ArkınAhmet 'paz' KarahocaEngin 'ngiN' Kor Robin 'flusha' Rönnquist Age: 25 Team: Cloud9 Rating 1.0: 1.08 Maps played: 1364 KPR: 0.73 DPR: 0.65