The first big event of 2026 starts with an online phase. It should be a nice warm-up session for the biggest teams. Ambitious underdogs in the lineup of participants surely hope for an early breakthrough.
The short break between seasons featured some big transfers, a somewhat weird map rotation, and a ceremony of honoring the biggest people in Counter-Strike 2 (CS2) esports. These three aspects create a special thrill around the online qualifier for BLAST Bounty Winter 2026.
How the addition of new players affects the teams' results? What map picks and bans dominate in the competition? Can the most successful players of 2026, Team Vitality, continue their era in pro Counter-Strike?
While still being an online event, the BLAST Bounty Winter 2026 qualifier is highly anticipated in the community. Everything about this tournament phase is here: stream, matchups, results, and important details.
Where to watch the BLAST Bounty Winter 2026 qualifier: Stream
Schedule of matches
The qualifier goes on from Jan. 13 to Jan 18. Each tournament day features a few CS2 esports matches. Schedule details are in the table below.
Estimated start time | Matches |
|---|---|
| 12 p.m. CET / 6 a.m. ET, Jan. 18 | Astralis 0:2 PARIVISION 1:13 on Dust II 8:13 on Ancient |
| 2:30 p.m. CET / 8:30 a.m. ET, Jan. 18 | Team Spirit 2:0 Inner Circle Esports 13:8 on Ancient 13:5 on Dust II |
| 5 p.m. CET / 11 a.m. ET, Jan. 18 | Team Vitality 2:0 EYEBALLERS 19:16 on Anubis 13:8 on Overpass |
| 7:30 p.m. CET / 1:30 p.m. ET, Jan. 18 | FURIA 2:1 FUT Esports 13:10 on Anubis 5:13 on Overpass 13:11 on Dust II |
Qualifier results at CS2 esports BLAST Bounty Winter 2026
The total number of teams trying to qualify for the LAN Finals is 32. Only eight of them can make it through.
This tournament series by BLAST features an interesting approach to forming money rewards. The exact prize depends on the power level of opponents a team has defeated.
Qualifier standings
Placement | Teams and their prize money | LAN Finals |
|---|---|---|
| 1st–8th | FURIA Team Vitality Team Spirit PARIVISION Team Falcons GamerLegion Team Liquid HEROIC | + |
| 9th–16th | FUT Esports, $2,500 EYEBALLERS, $10,000 Inner Circle Esports, $10,000 Astralis, $2,500 Monte, $15,000 Aurora Gaming, $2,500 Gentle Mates, $2,500 paiN Gaming, $2,500 | - |
| 17th–32nd | 9ine, $2,500 BetBoom, $2,500 Sinners, $2,500 ENCE, $2,500 ECSTATIC, $2,500 Ninjas in Pyjamas, $2,500 3DMAX, $2,500 M80, $2,500 Virtus.pro, $2,500 NAVI, $2,500 Friendly Campers, $2,500 Passion UA, $2,500 HOTU, $2,500 Fnatic, $2,500 FaZe Clan, $2,500 OG, $2,500 | - |
Starting matchups
In the first round, the stronger teams are seeded against those with lower ranking. It promises a chance for big upsets — and high-risk, high-reward opportunities on esports betting sites.
All matches at the CS2 BLAST Bounty Winter 2026 event are elimination battles. No missteps allowed!
FUT 2:0 OG 13:11 on Ancient 13:11 on Mirage GamerLegion 2:1 Passion UA 4:13 on Dust II 13:7 on Mirage 13:10 on Inferno Gentle Mates 2:0 M80 13:2 on Mirage 13:8 on Inferno PARAVISION 2:0 ENCE 13:7 on Overpass 22:20 on Anubis | FaZe 1:2 EYEBALLERS 13:6 on Ancient 4:13 on Mirage 7:13 on Inferno HEROIC 2:0 Friendly Campers 13:2 on Nuke 13:8 on Mirage 3DMAX 1:2 Inner Circle 9:13 on Ancient 16:13 on Nuke 6:13 on Dust II Team Spirit 2:0 Sinners 13:11 on Mirage 13:5 on Nuke | Astralis 2:1 Fnatic 12:16 on Mirage 13:11 on Overpass 13:4 on Ancient NAVI 1:2 Monte 13:11 on Nuke 11:13 on Mirage 8:13 on Dust II Liquid 2:1 NiP 13:10 on Nuke 8:13 on Mirage 16:13 on Ancient paiN Gaming 2:0 BetBoom 13:8 on Mirage 13:4 on Nuke | Aurora 2:1 HOTU 13:7 on Mirage 13:16 on Nuke 13:5 on Overpass Vitality 2:0 Virtus.pro 13:8 on Overpass 13:6 on Dust II Falcons 2:0 ECSTATIC 13:2 on Inferno 13:10 on Mirage FURIA 2:0 9ine 13:8 on Anubis 13:9 on Inferno |
The top 16 brackets: Qualification matches
It's the second and the final round of the BLAST Bounty Winter 2026 qualifier. The matchups are formed after the initial results: lower-seeded teams choose their next opponents.
The winners advance to the main event. The losers are out.
HEROIC 2:0 paiN Gaming 13:6 on Nuke 16:14 on Mirage Astralis 0:2 PARIVISION 1:13 on Dust II 8:13 on Ancient | Team Liquid 2:1 Gentle Mates 7:13 on Inferno 13:9 on Mirage 13:3 on Nuke Team Spirit 2:0 Inner Circle Esports 13:8 on Ancient 13:5 on Dust II | Aurora Gaming 1:2 GamerLegion 13:16 on Inferno 13:10 on Dust II 5:13 on Mirage Team Vitality 2:0 EYEBALLERS 19:16 on Anubis 13:8 on Overpass | Team Falcons 2:0 Monte 13:0 on Nuke 13:7 on Mirage FURIA 2:1 FUT Esports 13:10 on Anubis 5:13 on Overpass 13:11 on Dust II |
Brackets for LAN Finals at BLAST Bounty Winter 2026
Four teams with higher VRS placements are seeded into different brackets for the upcoming LAN Finals.
- FURIA
- Team Vitality
- Team Falcons
- Team Spirit
The other four teams will have a chance to choose their opponents: GamerLegion, Team Liquid, PARIVISION, and HEROIC. This unique way of forming playoff brackets is a key feature of the BLAST Bounty tournament series.
Warm-up or breakthrough: Favorites and underdogs
In theory, this qualifier should be an easy warm-up session for the top CS2 teams.
Vitality players claimed almost all the trophies at HLTV Awards 2025. We are looking forward to witnessing their form at the start of this new season.
FURIA dominated the final tournaments of the last year, like IEM Chengdu 2025. They stumbled in the Budapest Major Playoffs.
NAVI should overcome their inconsistency. Reaching high placements is great, but fans demand trophies!
Team Falcons didn't achieve a proper success in 2025, despite building a nice synergy at such events as BLAST Rivals in Hong Kong. Team Spirit made a shift in the roster to boost their results.
FaZe Clan pulled off some magic at the Budapest Major and reached the grand final. The young star, Jakub "jcobbb" Pietruszewski, may deliver even better now, having more experience on a big stage.
Still, FaZe lost on the very first round. Them being defeated by EYEBALLERS was on people's bingo card.
Underdogs at the BLAST Bounty Winter 2026 qualifier
Many lower-seeded teams have a chance to shine with their fresh rosters or after their pretty successful end of 2025.
Inner Circle Esports shone at ESL Pro League Season 22.
Astralis have the first tournament after losing Emil "Magisk" Reif and Nicolai "dev1ce" Reedtz. Two new players in the active roster are Love "phzy" Smidebrant and Gytis "ryu" Glušauskas.
B8 and Passion UA were among the best underdogs at the StarLadder Budapest Major 2025.
paiN Gaming and fnatic start the CS2 esports season 2026 with roster changes.
The main event of BLAST Bounty Winter 2026 is from Jan. 22 to Jan. 25. The LAN Finals happen in the BLAST studio arena, so there will be no properly big crowd.
The first really huge CS2 offline tournament of 2026 is Intel Extreme Masters Krakow 2026. It happens from Jan. 28 to Feb. 8 and becomes a historic shift of location: leaving the iconic Katowice arena behind.
