BLAST Bounty Season 2 2026 Runs July 21 to August 2 With 32 Teams and Malta LAN Finals

BLAST Bounty Season 2 2026 begins on July 21 with a 32-team online stage and concludes with a LAN final in Malta from July 30 to August 2, according to the tournament schedule published by Dot Esports.

The event is the first S-Tier Counter-Strike 2 tournament following the IEM Cologne 2026 Major and the subsequent player break, and it runs on Valve's new patch that returns Cache to the map pool and revises C4 explosion behavior. Team Falcons enters as the reigning Cologne Major champions. NAVI is not competing.

BLAST Bounty Season 2 2026 Schedule, Malta LAN, and Format

The tournament lasts for thirteen days. The online stage runs from July 21 to July 26, followed by a three-day break to give the top eight teams time to travel to Malta. The LAN finals are scheduled from July 30 to August 2 at BLAST Arena Studios in Malta.

During the online phase, four matches are played each day. According to Dot Esports, the schedule for the opening days includes:

• Tuesday, July 21: M80 versus NIP at 12:00 CEST, Nemesis versus Astralis at 14:30 CEST, Nuclear TigeRES versus MOUZ at 17:00 CEST, and Alliance versus Wildcard at 19:30 CEST.
• Wednesday, July 22: EYEBALLERS versus FaZe, Nemiga versus G2, HOTU versus GamerLegion, and 100 Thieves versus Falcons.
• Thursday, July 23: Fokus versus Aurora, SINNERS versus FUT, Gentle Mates versus paiN, and OG versus Spirit.
• Friday, July 24: 3DMAX versus magic, HEROIC versus TheMongolZ, Liquid versus Vitality, and Sharks versus FURIA.

Dot Esports notes that the schedule and results will be updated throughout the tournament.

BLAST Bounty Season 2 in 2026 follows a similar format to previous editions, with 32 teams competing for eight LAN playoff spots. The lowest 16 teams, often called underdogs, choose their opponents through BLAST's Draft Show.

Each of the top 16 teams begins the tournament with an attached bounty. When an underdog defeats a favorite, that team claims the bounty. Half of the bounty goes to the underdog's prize money, while the other half becomes their bounty for future matches. This system aims to distribute the prize pool and VRS ranking points more evenly, rather than concentrating them at the top.

Dot Esports notes that the bounty format is expected to change ahead of the 2027 season, but the 2026 edition maintains the original concept.

Teams, Roster Shuffles, and the New CS2 Patch at BLAST Bounty

Thirty-two teams are participating, with several arriving on revised rosters. Aurora, MOUZ, The MongolZ, and HEROIC are among those fielding new lineups. NAVI is the notable absence from the top five in the world rankings.

The full team list published by Dot Esports includes Falcons, Vitality, FURIA, Spirit, Aurora, G2, MOUZ, FUT, The MongolZ, FaZe, GamerLegion, Astralis, Magic, paiN, Alliance, M80, Ninjas In Pyjamas, HEROIC, Sharks, Liquid, Nemesis, 3DMAX, EYEBALLERS, Gentle Mates, SINNERS, Nuclear TigeRES, HOTU, FOKUS, 100 Thieves, OG, Wildcard, and Nemiga.

The event is the first S-Tier competition on the current CS2 patch. Cache has been added back to the map pool, and changes have been made to how C4 explosions behave.

Dot Esports mentions that BLAST Bounty Season 2 2026 will be the first chance to see how these map updates and C4 mechanics influence professional play at the top level. Teams have had limited time to prepare on the new patch following the break after the Major.

How to Watch BLAST Bounty Season 2 and What to Watch For

The tournament is being streamed live on BLAST's official Twitch and YouTube channels, as well as on BLAST.tv. To follow a specific match time, remember to convert the schedule from Central European Summer Time (CEST) to your local timezone, since all match times are listed in CEST.

There is ongoing discussion about whether Falcons can defend their title after winning the Cologne Major. Teams with updated rosters, including Aurora, MOUZ, The MongolZ, and HEROIC, are adjusting in their first S-Tier event together. The group stage shows trends in map bans and picks as the map returns to competitive play.

Bounty totals are set before the LAN finals, with the prize pool distribution affected by upset results during the online stage. Dot Esports has not yet published the full breakdown of the prize pool or the specific bounty amounts for each of the top 16 teams. Updated bracket standings, match results, and qualifications for the Malta LAN will be confirmed as the online stage continues through July 26.

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