BLAST sheds mild on its Bounty CS2 format

Event codecs in Counter-Strike esports hardly ever change, with a number of occasion organisers typically choosing a Swiss Stage adopted by a Playoff to find out the eventual champion.

Nonetheless, in January 2025, BLAST tweaked the system barely, launching its Bounty occasion that noticed the world’s greatest groups every have a financial bounty as an alternative of prize cash distributed based mostly on placement.

Forward of BLAST Bounty Season 1 2026, Esports Insider takes a more in-depth take a look at the occasion’s format with contemporary perception from the match organiser.

The $500,000 (~£371,480) prize pool up for grabs is cut up among the many prime 16 groups from the Valve Regional Standings (VRS). The groups seeded from seventeenth to thirty second are due to this fact the ‘bounty hunters’ and have chosen their opponents from the draft stage. These groups have an opportunity to win a 50% share of the bounty.

Within the spherical of 32, Virtus.professional chosen Group Vitality, which has a $60,000 (~£44,566) bounty on its head. If Virtus.professional defeats Group Vitality, it wins $30,000 (~£22.283) as a assured payout, whereas the opposite $30,000 carries ahead to the following spherical with the goal of elevating the stakes additional.

“As we entered 2025, we actually wished to create one thing new and distinctive for this new period of Counter-Strike,” revealed a BLAST spokesperson to Esports Insider.

“The CS calendar is extremely busy, with a number of occasions throughout the yr, so we noticed Bounty as an incredible alternative to create one thing contemporary and distinctive, providing followers a brand new match expertise.”

On the finish of every spherical, the lower-ranked groups proceed selecting their opponents till the Grand Last, the place the 2 remaining groups compete for an opportunity to raise the trophy.

For 2026, BLAST has moved away from groups wagering their bounties earlier than a match takes place, launching a non-monetary mechanic that debuts at Bounty Season 1. Earlier editions of the match hardly ever noticed groups put their prize cash on the road in case an underdog facet defied the percentages and scored an upset.

“2025 proved the significance of VRS factors on this new Counter-Strike local weather and simply how useful each single level is on groups’ quests to qualify for occasions and climb the rankings,” added BLAST.

“Wagering didn’t fairly work out the best way we wished to, so we’ve gone again to the drafting board and tailored the Bounty format transferring ahead. We’re all the time reflecting and analysing our codecs for enhancements and adjustments, not only for Bounty but in addition our Open and Rivals occasions.”

Followers can watch the entire motion throughout BLAST’s Twitch and YouTube channels beginning on January thirteenth at 10 AM GMT. 4 best-of-three matches kick off the occasion, with the likes of FaZe Clan, Astralis, and Aurora Gaming trying to start their bounty marketing campaign on the entrance foot.