BLAST Bounty 2026 Season 1 Online Stage: Results, Bracket Recap, and LAN Finals Qualifiers

Jan 19, 2026

The Online Stage is wrapped up, and the Malta tickets are stamped. Read on for a bracket recap, the series that shaped the story, and the eight teams that earned a shot at the BLAST Bounty Season 1 LAN Finals.

Event overview: schedule, teams involved, and what was at stake

BLAST Bounty 2026 Season 1 started with fast, high-pressure CS2 where teams had no time to ease in. It was played online from January 13 to 18, 2026, and every match could end a team’s run.

Schedule: Online Stage ran January 13 to 18, 2026; the LAN Finals in Malta are set for January 22 to 25 at BLAST’s studio.
Teams: 32 teams entered the Online Stage.
What was at stake: A round-of-16 win meant a spot in Malta; one loss meant elimination.
Top teams that qualified: Only four top-10 teams made it through: Vitality, FURIA, Falcons, Spirit.
Big names eliminated early: Natus Vincere, MOUZ, G2, The MongolZ, FaZe, Virtus.pro, Astralis.

For players watching the vetoes and early-round setups, the key point was simple: the Online Stage punished slow starts immediately.

Format and Ranking Rules: Seeding, Best-of-3 Knockout Rounds, and How Placements Are Decided

BLAST Bounty 2026 Season 1’s Online Stage used a strict knockout setup, so every series mattered right away. Teams were seeded ahead of time, and that seeding did more than just place names on a bracket.

Match format: Every Online Stage matchup was a best-of-3 series, and it was single-elimination. One loss meant the team was out.
Bracket steps: The round of 32 cut the field in half. The round of 16 was the qualifier line: win there and the team earned a Malta LAN Finals spot.
Seeding twist: Lower seeds could choose which higher seed to face, which changed the usual “safe” early rounds. EYEBALLERS (seed 24) picked Vitality (seed 3), and FUT (seed 16) picked FURIA (seed 1).
Placements: The eight round-of-16 winners placed 1st to 8th and qualified; the eight round-of-16 losers placed 9th to 16th.
What comes next: The four lower-seeded qualifiers will pick quarterfinal opponents from the top four seeds in a live draft show on Wednesday at 20:00, with Liquid picking first.

That structure rewards teams that start strong and punishes slow warm-ups, which is why early-round prep and veto plans mattered so much.

Results Recap: Biggest Storylines, Key Matches, and Notable Eliminations

The round of 16 was the make-or-break point. Win one best-of-3 and a team locked in a Malta trip. Lose once and the run ended immediately. The final day showed two different kinds of pressure: some squads survived close maps and messy moments, while others looked calm and ran away with it.

Vitality get pushed hard, then ZywOo closes the door

EYEBALLERS made their series against Vitality feel dangerous, even though it ended 2-0. On Anubis, Vitality had to grind through a long finish and won 19-16. Overpass was cleaner at 13-8, but the opener already did the damage to nerves.

Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut was the safety net the whole time. He finished the series 49-30, which is a 1.63 K/D ratio, with a 1.37 rating. When a map goes deep like that, one star winning a few late duels can decide everything.

FURIA wobble, FUT punish, then molodoy carries the decider

FURIA started strong by taking Ancient 13-5, but FUT did not fold. FUT stole Dust2 13-11 to force the third map, and that is where the series became a real fight instead of a routine qualifier.

On Nuke, FURIA held on to win 13-10 and take the series 2-1. Danil “molodoy” Golubenko was the biggest reason they survived: 63-40 overall, a 1.58 K/D ratio, and a 1.46 rating across all three maps. For CS2 players, that is the kind of stat line that usually means constant impact, not just a few highlight rounds.

Spirit and Falcons look controlled, powered by huge star numbers

Spirit moved through Inner Circle without letting the series turn chaotic, sweeping 2-0 and finishing Dust2 13-5. Danil “donk” Kryshkovets led with 42-25 overall (1.68 K/D) and a 1.80 rating. Dmitry “sh1ro” Sokolov was almost as sharp at 41-20 with a 1.73 rating. When both are landing shots, it gets hard to take space, save weapons, or build confidence.

Falcons also advanced 2-0 over Monte on Nuke and Mirage. Ilya “m0NESY” Osipov took over, ending 42-25 (1.68 K/D) with a 1.75 rating. Falcons also have a roster change coming into Malta: academy player Matej “NucleonZ” Trajkoski will play the LAN Finals instead of Maxim “kyousuke” Lukin because of visa issues.

The harsh exits: blowouts, overtime heartbreak, and the full qualifier snapshot

Some teams did not just lose, they got shut down. PARIVISION crushed Astralis 13-1 on Dust2 and finished Ancient 13-8 for a 2-0, led by Ivan “zweih” Gogin at 36-15 (2.40 K/D) with a 1.92 rating. HEROIC beat paiN 2-0, but Mirage went to overtime and ended 16-14, with Linus “nilo” Bergman posting 44-28 (1.57 K/D) and a 1.48 rating.

Here is the full round-of-16 qualifier summary, with the key scores available and the best performer from each series:

Qualifier match (winner)	Series	Map results	Best performer (K-D, K/D, rating)
Vitality vs EYEBALLERS	2-0	Anubis 19-16, Overpass 13-8	ZywOo (49-30, 1.63, 1.37)
FURIA vs FUT	2-1	Ancient 13-5, Dust2 11-13, Nuke 13-10	molodoy (63-40, 1.58, 1.46)
Falcons vs Monte	2-0	Nuke, Mirage	m0NESY (42-25, 1.68, 1.75)
Spirit vs Inner Circle	2-0	Ancient, Dust2 13-5	donk (42-25, 1.68, 1.80)
Liquid vs Gentle Mates	2-1	Nuke 13-3	ultimate (42-32, 1.31, 1.25)
PARIVISION vs Astralis	2-0	Dust2 13-1, Ancient 13-8	zweih (36-15, 2.40, 1.92)
GamerLegion vs Aurora	2-1	Mirage 13-5	hypex (55-37, 1.49, 1.33)
HEROIC vs paiN	2-0	Mirage 16-14 (OT)	nilo (44-28, 1.57, 1.48)

The eliminated teams at this final step were EYEBALLERS, FUT, Inner Circle, Monte, Gentle Mates, Astralis, Aurora, and paiN. Liquid, GamerLegion, HEROIC, and PARIVISION all found a way through, with Liquid ending their series on a one-sided 13-3 Nuke, GamerLegion winning the decider Mirage 13-5, and HEROIC surviving overtime to finish the job.

Final placements and next steps: the eight LAN Finals teams and what happens in the Finals stage

The confirmed LAN Finals field is: Vitality, FURIA, Falcons, Spirit, Liquid, PARIVISION, GamerLegion, and HEROIC.

Online Stage placements, grouped by the round teams reached:

1st-8th (qualified): Vitality, FURIA, Falcons, Spirit, Liquid, PARIVISION, GamerLegion, HEROIC
9th-16th (round of 16 exits): EYEBALLERS, Inner Circle, Astralis, Monte, FUT, Aurora, Gentle Mates, paiN

Next on the calendar is the live draft show on Wednesday at 20:00, where the four lower-seeded qualifiers pick opponents from the top four seeds, with Liquid selecting first. After that, it is all LAN in Malta, with Falcons expected to adjust their roster because of kyousuke’s visa situation.