BLAST Bounty 2026 Season 1 kicks off the new CS season with over $1,000,000 on the line, a 32-team single-elimination bracket, and a split format that starts online before finishing on LAN in Malta. Here is everything you need to know about the teams, schedule, and format ahead of the opening matches.
Dates and location
️ January 13th – January 25th, 2026
Malta
Prize: $1,150,000
Format
- 32-team single-elimination bracket
- Online Stage: Round of 32 and Round of 16, all matches Bo3
- Top 8 advance to LAN Finals in Malta
- LAN Finals: single-elimination, quarterfinals and semifinals Bo3
- Grand final Bo5
- Map pool: Dust2, Mirage, Inferno, Nuke, Anubis, Overpass, Ancient
Teams and matchups
Round 1: Lowest 16 seeded teams pick matchups between top 16 seeded teams.
Round 2: Lowest 8 seeds teams pick matchups between top 8 seeded teams.
First round matchups:
- BetBoom – paiN
- fnatic – Astralis
- M80 – Gentle Mates
- Passion UA – GamerLegion
- HOTU – Aurora
- NIP – Liquid
- Friendly Campers – HEROIC
- EYEBALLERS – FaZe
- Inner Circle – 3DMAX
- OG – FUT
- 9INE – FURIA
- ENCE – PARIVISION
- Virtus.pro – Vitality
- Monte – NAVI
- SINNERS – Spirit
- ECSTATIC – Falcons
Lowest seeds are on the left side.
Storylines
How will Anubis replacing Train in the map pool affect the first tournament of the year?
Can Vitality start the year hot?
What will this new-look Spirit play like?
Is Astralis going international going to work?
Will Falcons win a tournament with their stacked roster?
Talent
Host/Interviewer:
- James “BanKs” Banks
- Mike “DarfMike” Winnick
Analysts:
- Jacob “Pimp” Winneche
- Alex “Mauisnake” Ellenberg
Commentators:
- Mohan “launders” Govindasamy
- Conner “Scrawny” Girvan
- Hugo “Hugo” Byron
- Harry “JustHarry” Russell
How to watch
BLAST on YouTube
BLAST on Twitch
