As the BLAST Bounty 2025 Season 2 kicks off, we tapped into the expert brain of Jacob “Pimp” Winneche to get his thoughts on the teams to watch, potential surprises, and who he’s keeping a close eye on throughout the event.
If you haven’t caught up on the full tournament format, schedule, and storylines yet, you can check out our full BLAST Bounty preview here.
8 Teams to Make the LAN Finals?
When asked who he believes will secure a spot at the LAN finals in Malta, Pimp listed his top 8:
- Vitality
- MOUZ
- Spirit
- The MongolZ
- NAVI
- Aurora
- Virtus.pro
- NIP
“It really depends on who picks who, which of course is impossible to know at this point,” he adds.
It’s a strong mix of tournament favorites and a couple of bold picks. Particularly NIP and Aurora, both of whom are still proving themselves in the CS2 era.
Who Could Surprise?
According to Pimp, NIP might have more in the tank than people expect:
“NIP have a lot to play for and seem like a team on the rise. They’ve been grinding online a lot over the past six months compared to many others – definitely a good candidate for a surprise run.”
The Swedes recently found some footing in online play, and this could be the event where they finally translate that momentum to a deep tournament run.
Eyes on R1nkle and ESTATIC
When asked about standout individuals or dark horse teams, Pimp mentioned:
“R1nkle from NIP is an exciting player. Also, ESTATIC, they could be fun to follow, especially considering their match against Liquid.”
R1nkle has been putting up strong numbers lately boasting a 1.23 rating in the last 3 months, and ESTATIC’s fearless style might just catch a slumping Liquid off guard.
