BLAST Bounty 2026 Season 2 has reached its LAN finals stage after the conclusion of its brutal single-elimination online section.
Eight teams are now set to play in BLAST’s Arena Studios in Malta for the first Tier 1 trophy of the season as elite Counter-Strike returns to LAN from July 30-August 2.
BLAST Bounty 2026 Season 2 Finals qualified teams:
- Spirit
- MOUZ
- The MongolZ
- FaZe
- Astralis
- paiN
- Liquid
- 3DMAX
Spirit will enter the BLAST Bounty Finals as the huge favorite, being the only pre-tournament favorite to survive the online stage, defeating spirited OG and 100 Thieves rosters.
Polymarket currently gives the Russian roster a 45% chance of winning the event, far exceeding the chances of any other team in Malta.
Elsewhere, there are certainly big names involved in the tournament, but whether the rosters are exactly at the peak of their powers its highly doubtful.
Liquid are just taking their first steps after securing Johnny ‘jT’ Theodosiou as their new IGL, but the immediate signs are transformatively positive, defeating Vitality and G2 to make the LAN.
FaZe have shown a strong start after the addition of Jason Boe ‘JBOEN’ Nielsen, but the AWPer will only get his first taste of Tier 1 LAN in Malta.
The MongolZ are playing their first tournament after two roster changes, including the loss of Ayush ‘mzinho’ Batbold to BC.Game.
MOUZ perhaps has a decent platform to compete for the trophy, despite only re-signing Oldřich ‘PR’ Nový in the offseason.
MOUZ experimented with their roster at the tail end of last season, giving Dorian ‘xertioN’ Berman lead-in time as IGL for the new season, and Adrian ‘xelex’ Vincze bedding in time as IGL. Will that prove to be vital in Malta?
Perhaps, but to do so they will likely have to get past an imperious Danil ‘donk’ Kryshkovets, who broke his own HLTV-rating record on Dust 2 against 100T, delivering 20 kills in 13 rounds as Team Spirit demolished 100T.
With the other favorites absent, can anyone stop donk?
Favorites collapse in BLAST Bounty online stage
Prior to the event, the clearly identifiable top four teams at BLAST Bounty were Falcons, Vitality, Spirit, and FURIA. Only Spirit remain after the conclusion of the online stage.
Online Counter-Strike itself tends to be less consistent and more chaotic in its results, but that pattern has been compounded by the fact that this is the first competitive action for the majority of Tier 1 rosters.
As for Tier 2 rosters, events in the player break like XSE Pro League, which FaZe competed in, and Stake Ranked Episode 3 have given them match practice.
The result was the tumbling of favorite after favorite at the event, starting with IEM Cologne 2026 Major champions, Team Falcons, losing 2-1 to 100 Thieves, now under the command of Jack ‘Gizmy’ von Spreckelsen.
The new-look international Aurora project was next to fall to online grinders, FOKUS, before Liquid stunned Vitality, followed by FURIA’s elimination to regional rival roster DENDELE.
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Darragh is an Esports Journalist for Insider Gaming specialising in Counter-Strike. He loves to explore how esports teams work, or why they very often do not.
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