BLAST Open Rotterdam 2026 opens with wins for Falcons, NAVI, Aurora, and FURIA

To start, BLAST Open Rotterdam 2026 gave its opening day an immediate edge. Falcons, NAVI, Aurora, and FURIA all moved into the upper bracket, but each win came with a different shape, from a controlled sweep to a late-night grind. Read on for the full opening-day breakdown.

Falcons overcome NRG in a confident opening sweep

Falcons started the event with a clean 2-0 win over NRG, even though they had to play without kyousuke because of visa problems. That could have made things messy, but the team looked calm from the start. Stand-in NucleonZ did his job well, especially on defense, and gave Falcons the stability they needed early in the series.

Ancient was the more comfortable map. Falcons took control in the first half and never really let NRG settle. Dust2 was closer, mostly because Sonic gave NRG a real chance with a huge first half. Still, Falcons stayed composed, won a pair of difficult 3v5 rounds, and then grabbed a key force-buy round at 7-7. That was the moment the match shifted back in their favor.

NAVI fend off B8 to begin their campaign with a series victory

NAVI got the win, but B8 made them work for every map. The series ended 2-1, and it never felt easy. NAVI took Mirage 13-9, lost Ancient 17-19 after a long overtime battle, then reset well and closed Dust2 13-7. B8 played with confidence from the start and kept the pressure on, turning the match into a real test instead of a simple opener.

• Series score: NAVI 2-1 B8;
• Mirage: NAVI won 13-9;
• Ancient: B8 won 19-17 in double overtime;
• Dust2: NAVI won 13-7;
• Best NAVI player: iM with a 68-50 K-D and 1.41 rating;
• Best overall fragger: makazze with 70 kills and 101.3 ADR.

Ancient was the turning point. NAVI were close to ending the series there, but B8 stayed alive with big late-round plays, including a triple kill from npl and a 1v2 clutch from alex666. NAVI responded the right way on Dust2, built an 8-4 lead on the T side, and looked much more in control after the break.

Aurora edge FaZe and add to their difficult 2026 start

Aurora came through one of the closest series of the day, beating FaZe 2-1 after losing Nuke 11-13 and then winning Inferno 13-8 and Dust2 13-10. FaZe had their chances, but Aurora looked more settled once the match opened up. They found better timing on Inferno, took control of the early rounds on Dust2, and stayed sharp when the pressure rose late in the decider. Wicadia helped shut the door with two big double kills, while XANTARES led Aurora from start to finish. On the other side, jcobbb gave FaZe real hope, but it was not enough to turn the series around. The result left FaZe at 3-10 in best-of-three matches in 2026, which adds even more weight to a rough start to the season.

FURIA finish the day by holding off TYLOO in the late match

FURIA closed the first day with a 2-0 win over TYLOO, but the series was closer than the final score suggests. Mirage ended 13-8, and Overpass followed at 13-11 after a much tighter battle. TYLOO kept finding ways back into rounds, especially once the match got deeper and the pressure rose.

1. Mirage: FURIA stayed in control for most of the map, and FalleN helped stop TYLOO’s push with a key double kill at 10-7.
2. Overpass: TYLOO made things much harder. Zero opened the second half with a pistol-round ace, and TYLOO even moved ahead 9-8.
3. Difference makers: KSCERATO led FURIA with a 36-23 K-D and a 1.36 rating, while FalleN added a 34-28 score, a 1.29 rating, and 86.7% KAST.
4. Best TYLOO player: Moseyuh stood out with 35-33 and a 1.21 rating.

In the final rounds, FURIA looked calmer and cleaner, and that was enough to close the match and move on to the next round against Aurora.