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The event, in general, serves as an early-year event that combines online qualification with a final LAN showdown to kick off competitive CS2 in earnest. The LAN finals, which are part of our presentation, are held in Malta, with real-world LAN matches scheduled for January 23-25, 2026. The event begins with an online stage preceding those dates.

While not a Major or a Premier event, the BLAST Bounty Winter still carries considerable weight. It gives Tier-1 and rising Tier-1.5 teams a crucial chance to test new rosters, earn valuable prizemoney, and build momentum toward the spring portion of the CS2 calendar. For organizations experimenting with new lineups—often after the winter shuffle—it’s a platform that can define early-year narratives and shift power rankings before bigger events arrive.

The tournament is organized entirely by BLAST, one of the leading production and event companies in global eSports, based in Denmark. Known for its polished stagecraft, innovative formats, and strong brand identity, they continue to position the Bounty series as a high-engagement spectacle within their broader Counter-Strike offerings.

Venue, Format, and Prize Pool Overview for the BLAST Bounty Winter 2026

The LAN portion of the BLAST Bounty Winter 2026 is held at BLAST Studios — often referred to as BLAST’s “Malta Studio” in Malta. So, it’s an in-person, indoor studio environment for the finals.

Eight teams will participate in the LAN final bracket. The total prize pool (player + club payments) is USD 1.15 million. According to the publicly shared distribution model:

• 1st–4th place: Each receives USD 60,000 + a “club share” of USD 40,000.
• 5th–8th place: Each receives USD 30,000 + club share USD 40,000.

Given that the tournament is part of the broader BLAST Frequent Flyers Programme (through this program, teams can earn “Frequent Flyer Tokens” based on their participation and performance at BLAST events), teams will get this reward as well. The slots for Frequent Flyer Tokens are: first place/3 FFTs and 2nd -8th place/1 FFT each.

Participating Teams in the BLAST Bounty Winter 2026 and Qualification Overview

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Because of that, we can’t say which exact organizations will appear in the LAN bracket, or in what seed/order.

Structure and Match Format of the BLAST Bounty Winter 2026

The LAN finals use a single-elimination bracket. Match formats for LAN finals:

• • Quarterfinals & semifinals — best-of-three (bo3)
  • Grand final — best-of-five (bo5)

In short: after online qualification, surviving teams advance to a direct-elimination LAN playoff bracket — no group stage or double elimination.

The “bounty” mechanic is a special feature introduced by BLAST to add extra stakes to each match. Instead of teams only playing for standard prize money and progression through the bracket, each matchup comes with an additional “bounty reward” that the winner claims on top of their normal prize. How it works:

• Every match in the tournament has a specific bounty value attached to it.
• When a team wins that match, they “collect the bounty” — an extra reward added to their earnings.
• The bounty grows round by round, meaning later matches are worth more.
• If a team goes on a deep run, they can stack multiple bounty rewards, significantly increasing their total payout.

Example:

• Quarterfinal win → small bounty
• Semifinal win → larger bounty
• Grand final win → biggest bounty

A team that wins multiple rounds doesn’t just progress — they also collect every bounty along the way, earning more than they would in a standard playoff structure.

The BLAST Bounty Winter 2026 Favorites, Betting Options, and Where to Watch

Because Bounty tournaments under BLAST tend to draw many of the top-tier CS2 teams, favorites for the winter split are likely to include well-established, high-performing organizations — the kind that generally dominate in previous BLAST and Major-level events. Historically, teams that do well in BLAST events (e.g., strong top-10 globally) tend to be considered favorites. For example, in past Bounty seasons, such teams were Vitality and MOUZ.

Given the offline LAN final format at a Tier-1 level event — and the relatively big prize pool — expect the strongest CS2 rosters (top global or Europe-based) to enter as front-runners. Because the tournament involves 32 teams (in qualifiers) narrowing to eight for LAN finals, there’s also room for “dark horses” or underdog teams (especially those coming through qualifiers) to make surprising runs. That unpredictability is part of what makes Bounty events interesting.

Traditional eSports-betting sites that cover major CS2 events, such as CS2 match betting sites, typically offer odds on BLAST tournaments. Various betting platforms list matches, match-winner moneylines, map odds, handicaps, over/under, etc. For example — as a general reference — some eSports betting guides note that sites under the broader BLAST Premier umbrella list odds for events. Because BLAST Bounty Winter 2026 is part of the established BLAST circuit and is listed publicly (on the official BLAST site), it’s highly likely that by the time the LAN finals begin, odds markets will be available (moneyline, map-bets, perhaps props) on major eSports betting platforms that support CS2.

The official home for BLAST broadcasts is BLAST.tv, which lists the tournament on its schedule page as “BLAST Premier Bounty Season 1 2026”. BLAST historically streams its events on major platforms, including Twitch and YouTube (under their “BLASTPremier” channels) — which is consistent with how most of their CS2 events are broadcast. Since the LAN finals are held at BLAST Studios in Malta, there will likely be a live-production feed (desk hosts/observers/commentators) — meaning the viewing experience should be on par with previous BLAST Premier / Bounty events.

Pros and Cons of the Bounty Series