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Image credit: Adam Lakomy, BLAST
After five days of online qualifiers packed full of surprises, the field for BLAST Bounty Season 1 2026 is set.
Of the 32 teams competing in the first Tier 1 Counter-Strike 2 event of 2026, eight will head to BLAST’s Malta studios to battle it out for a trophy in 2026 and an opportunity to begin the season on the front foot.
BLAST Bounty Season 1 2026 Teams
The eight remaining teams successfully navigated a single-elimination bracket to secure a spot at the LAN finals. Unlike other high-profile CS2 events, the four teams with the highest seed have the option to select the opponent for the final single-elimination bracket.
Winners of the quarter-finals advance to the semi-finals, where another draw takes place to determine the order of the final four.
Team Falcons
After easing its way through the online qualifiers, Team Falcons has an uphill task in Malta following some last-minute roster moves. Due to visa issues, Maksim ‘kyousuke‘ Lukin is unable to attend the LAN finals, resulting in Matej ‘NucleonZ’ Trajkoski receiving a call-up from the organisation’s academy roster.
Alongside the Tier 1 debut of NucleonZ, the team will be without Danny ‘zonic‘ Sørensen, who has returned home following the passing of his brother.
With no coach and an inexperienced player joining, the experience of other members of Team Falcons will prove vital if it is to make a deep run.
Team Vitality
Image credit: Adam Lakomy, BLAST
Defending Major champions Team Vitality continued to demonstrate its impressive form in the online qualifiers with convincing victories over Virtus.pro and EYEBALLERS during the online qualifiers.
During the 2-0 sweep of EYEBALLERS, Mathieu ‘ZywOo‘ Herbaut scored his 100th career ace, adding another impressive milestone to his storied career. The AWPer continues to deliver high-impact moments and continues to play a pivotal role in one of Counter-Strike’s powerhouse rosters.
After winning nine Tier 1 events in 2025, the French organisation aims to keep the momentum rolling with the addition of another notable trophy to its ever-expanding cabinet.
FURIA
Despite missing out on the Budapest Major Grand Final, FURIA remains at the top of the Valve Regional Standings (VRS). Victory over 9INE and a defiant FUT Esports, which garnered a 2-1 scoreline, secured its place in Malta.
Danil ‘molodoy‘ Golubev continues to excel with the AWP in hand, frequently dealing plenty of damage that swings a round into his team’s favour.
A strong end to 2025 keeps FURIA in contention to add another title to its growing list. It will be interesting to see how the team bounces back from an unexpected exit from the Major.
Team Spirit
An off-season roster change has reinvigorated Team Spirit after its top-four finish at the Budapest Major. The return of Myroslav ‘zont1x‘ Plakhotia and Boris ‘magixx‘ Vorobyev has already yielded a playoff appearance after defeating SINNERS Esports and Inner Circle Esports in the qualifiers.
Danil ‘donk‘ Kryshkovets remains a force to be reckoned with and hopes to dethrone Team Vitality from the pinnacle of Counter-Strike with a successful defence of the BLAST Bounty title won in August 2025.
Team Liquid
Image credit: Adam Lakomy, BLAST
After a season of turbulence, Team Liquid looks to have rediscovered some form in Tier 1 events after earning its place in the BLAST Bounty playoffs. 2-1 wins over Ninjas in Pyjamas and Gentle Mates saw glimmers of potential from a roster that has struggled in Counter-Strike 2’s biggest events.
Jonathan ‘EliGE‘ Jablonowski excelled during the online qualifiers, scoring an ace against Ninjas in Pyjamas with a UMP45 and 34 eliminations to his name.
With Team Liquid showing it can compete against established rosters, the roster could find itself springing surprises against the world’s best.
HEROIC
Despite the absence of Älımjan ‘Alkaren‘ Bıtımbai due to visa issues, HEROIC finds itself in its first playoffs since PGL Masters Bucharest 2025. The Norwegian organisation swept aside the last-minute stand-in of Friendly Campers in the round of 32, before defeating paiN Gaming in the round of 16.
With Simon ‘yxngstxr‘ Boije acting as a temporary stand-in for Alkaren, HEROIC has an opportunity to cement its place within the top 20 of the global standings with a strong playoff performance.
GamerLegion
GamerLegion‘s struggles in the second half of 2025 saw the European roster tumble down the standings, but the recent addition of Janusz ‘snax‘ Pogorzelski has resulted in an upward tick in form.
A 2-1 victory over Passion UA was followed by a 2-1 win against Aurora Gaming, continuing a strong start to 2026 for a team that spent most of last year changing its lineup with little success.
Currently ranked 24th in the global VRS, a top-four finish at BLAST Bounty would give GamerLegion plenty of points as attention starts turning to the Cologne Major.
Parivision
Parivision‘s late run of form towards the end of 2025 saw it cement its place in the top 20, along with securing invites for several Tier 1 tournaments. Its BLAST Bounty campaign kicked off with a hotly contested 2-0 win over ENCE, before continuing its momentum against Astralis, picking up a dominant 2-0 sweep.
The arrival of Ivan ‘zweih‘ Gogin has proven to be a smart move. His prowess with a rifle in hand often opens A site for the rest of his team, giving Parivision a wealth of control on attacking rounds.
Thanks to BLAST’s draft format, there’s a possibility of zweih facing off against his former Team Spirit teammates in the quarter-finals in what could be a tantalising prospect between two of Europe’s top teams.
BLAST Bounty Season 1 2026 Playoff Matches
On January 21st, BLAST will host a draft show where FURIA, Team Vitality, Team Spirit, and Team Falcons will select their quarter-final opponents.
Fans can tune into the draft show from 7 PM GMT across BLAST’s Twitch and YouTube channels to see the playoff bracket taking shape before the action gets underway on January 22nd.
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