BLAST Rivals Hong Kong 2026 kicks off on November 11. The tournament is the final Tier 1 Counter-Strike competition before the PGL Singapore Major Stage 1 begins on November 24.
Insider Gaming has all you need to know about BLAST Rivals Hong Kong 2026, including the teams, groups, prize money, and where to watch the competition.
BLAST Rivals Hong Kong 2026 Schedule and Format
BLAST Rivals Hong Kong 2026 dates:
- November 11-15
- Group Stage: November 11-12
- Playoffs: November 13-15
BLAST Rivals Hong Kong 2026 is an eight-team event, divided into two groups.
Group Stage format:
- Eight-team GSL groups
- Teams with the same record play each other
- Group Winner advances to the semi-finals; Second and Third place advance to the quarter-finals
- All matches are Best of 3
Playoffs:
- Six-team single-elimination bracket
- All matches are Bo3 except for Bo5 Grand Final
BLAST Hong Kong 2026 Teams and Groups
BLAST Rivals is BLAST’s eight-team event, meant to be the elite of the elite battling it out against each other. As such, all invited teams were the eight top teams in the Global VRS at the time of invitation.
The teams at BLAST Rivals Hong Kong 2026 are:
- Team Spirit
- Legacy
- Team Vitality
- MOUZ
- G2
- Falcons
- FURIA
- FUT
The Groups at BLAST Rivals Hong Kong are set as follows:
| Group A | Group B |
| Legacy | Team Spirit |
| Team Vitality | MOUZ |
| Team Falcons | G2 |
| FURIA | FUT |
The opening matchups are:
Group A:
- Legacy vs FURIA
- Team Falcons vs Team Vitality
Group B:
- Team Spirit vs FUT
- MOUZ vs G2
Prize Pool
The BLAST Rivals Hong Kong 2026 Prize pool is:
- $1,000,000
- Club Share: $650,000
- First Place: $250,000 ($125,000 of which is Club Share)
BLAST Rivals Hong Kong Location
BLAST Rivals Hong Kong 2026 will take place at AsiaWorld-Expo, which features an arena that boasts a 14,000-person capacity.
How to Watch BLAST Rivals Hong Kong 2026
BLAST Rivals Hong Kong 2026 can be watched on BLAST Premier’s channels across platforms on Twitch, YouTube, and BLAST’s own platform:
BLAST Rivals Hong Kong 2026 Predictions
Team Vitality will be back to its full strength at BLAST Rivals as Dan ‘apEX’ Madesclaire returns from parental leave, with Justinas ‘jL’ Lekavičius finishing his stand-in stint.
The last time we saw Vitality with their famous five, they won. They usually do. That time, William ‘mezii’ Merriman slotted back into the roster after his own paternity leave, and Vitality won ESL Pro League Season 24 in Katowice.
So Vitality doesn’t seem to have a problem returning to form, but with the Major so close, their priority might be getting everything ready for Singapore, rather than winning this event, so their form will be interesting to see.
Their opening match is against Team Falcons after their humiliating elimination at IEM Beijing to NAVI, losing the final two maps of the series 4-13, 3-13. Falcons simply have to show something at this event, some signs of progress at least, to give fans hope that the project has the potential to do what it was built to do: Not simply win one tournament a year, but dominate the CS scene.
For FURIA, it’s an opening match against Legacy whose form has collapsed of late, leading to Vinicius ‘n1ssim’ Pereira’s benching. FURIA’s main issue in their opening match will more than likely be fatigue, having played every Tier 1 event under the sun this season.
After tournament victories at Thunderpick and PGL Masters Bucharest, FURIA’s form is not in question, but their energy levels are after a gruelling season schedule.
In Group B, MOUZ are in great form and seem to be peaking with their roster, with Oldřich ‘PR’ Nový now fully integrated. The team’s ceiling remains in question, something that a potential matchup with Spirit will test.
For Spirit, it’s the floor rather than the ceiling that is the problem. Spirit seemed to be on top of the CS landscape after EWC 2026 and BLAST Porto wins, but they’ve played some abject CS in the last few events, with Danil ‘donk’ Kryshkovets cutting a rather dejected and demotivated figure.
FUT will be a strong test for Spirit in their opening match, but MOUZ will probably not struggle against a G2 that has finished joint-last in their last two events. The team has seemingly imploded after the addition of Artem ‘r1nkle’ Moroz, who has individually looked terrible.
Predicted Winner: Team Vitality
Who will win BLAST Rivals Hong Kong? Let us know your thoughts on the Insider Gaming Discord server.
For more Insider Gaming coverage, check out the news that Dambi has left Nongshim’s VALORANT roster, and for even more Insider Gaming delivered directly to your inbox, sign up for our newsletter
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.
More from Darragh Harbinson
Comments