BLAST Bounty Winter 2026 Schedule, Prize Pool, and Streams

BLAST Bounty Winter 2026 is the first real stress test of the CS2 season. New year, new map pool reality, and a format that rewards teams for hunting big names early instead of just playing it safe. You get a fast online stage to cut 32 teams down, then a Malta studio Finals where every series matters.

Table of Contents

BLAST Bounty Winter 2026 at a glance

Event window	Jan 13 to Jan 25, 2026
Online stage	Jan 13 to Jan 18, 2026
Finals location	BLAST Studio, Malta
Finals dates	Jan 22 to Jan 25, 2026
Teams	32
Total prize pool	$1,150,000
Stream	BLAST Twitch and BLAST YouTube, plus approved co streams

What makes BLAST Bounty different

This is not a normal bracket where you simply follow the seed order and pray for good matchups. BLAST Bounty uses opponent selection with bounties attached to teams. Higher seeds come in with bigger bounties, and when you eliminate a team, you claim their bounty. That means every pick has a real risk reward decision behind it.

A quick example of why this matters
If you are a low seed and you take out a top seed early, you do not just get a win, you get the money attached to that team. If you are a favorite, you cannot afford a slow start because one bad series can flip the entire money picture.

Format and structure

Here is the flow in plain English:

Online stage in Europe
32 teams play through two rounds, best of three series.
Top 8 advance to Malta
Those eight teams move to the BLAST studio for the Finals.
Finals format
Single elimination playoffs, best of three, then a best of five grand final.

Prize pool and how the money works

Total prize pool is $1,150,000.

HLTV also breaks it down like this: $500,000 as prize money plus $650,000 as a club share.

On top of that, the event is built around bounty values tied to seeding. On the BLAST event page you can see examples like top seeds carrying $60,000 bounties, while many lower seeds start at $0.

Why fans should care
Because money is tied to who you beat, not just how far you go, the early rounds can feel like playoff matches. Upsets hit harder and favorites are forced to show form immediately.

Schedule

Times below are listed in CET on the viewer guides and match schedule coverage/

Online stage: Round of 32

Tuesday, Jan 13	12:00 OG vs FUT 14:30 EYEBALLERS vs FaZe 17:00 fnatic vs Astralis 19:30 HOTU vs Aurora
Wednesday, Jan 14	12:00 Passion UA vs GamerLegion 14:30 NRG vs HEROIC 17:00 Monte vs Natus Vincere 19:30 Virtus.pro vs Vitality
Thursday, Jan 15	12:00 M80 vs Gentle Mates 14:30 Inner Circle vs 3DMAX 17:00 Ninjas in Pyjamas vs Liquid 19:30 ECSTATIC vs Falcons
Friday, Jan 16	11:00 ENCE vs PARIVISION 13:30 SINNERS vs Spirit 16:00 BetBoom vs paiN 18:30 9INE vs FURIA

Matchups and time blocks are listed in the published schedule.

Online stage: Round of 16

Saturday, Jan 17
12:00 Round of 16 match 1
14:30 Round of 16 match 2
17:00 Round of 16 match 3
19:30 Round of 16 match 4

Sunday, Jan 18
12:00 Round of 16 match 5
14:30 Round of 16 match 6
17:00 Round of 16 match 7
19:30 Round of 16 match 8

Malta Finals

The Finals are scheduled for Jan 22 to Jan 25 in Malta, with 8 teams.

BLAST Bounty 2026 Season 1

HOTU vs Aurora

First CS tournament of the new year

• HOTU
· tier-2 team facing mainly similar opponents recently
· n0rb3r7 is their only experienced player
· Kazakh/Russian roster competing in Tier 2/3 events
· no notable upsets against… pic.twitter.com/xpujoUjVGS
— Gustaffson Kotte (@gustaffsonkotte) January 13, 2026

Teams to watch

BLAST Bounty uses an invited field based on the global invitational ranking from December 2025, and the event still includes plenty of top tier squads even with some big names declining invites.

A few teams explicitly called out as part of the top end and storylines include FURIA, Team Falcons, Vitality, Aurora, Spirit, and others looking to prove off season changes were worth it.

If you want a simple viewing plan, target these angles:
• New look rosters trying to gel fast
• Favorites under pressure because one loss is instant elimination and a bounty swing
• Underdogs who can steal a top seed bounty and snowball confidence

Where to watch: official streams and co streams

BLAST is streaming the event on its official Twitch and YouTube channels, and there will also be approved community co streams and regional language broadcasts.

If you are posting this blog for viewers, add this line near the top of the page:
You can watch every match live online on BLAST Twitch and BLAST YouTube, plus approved co streams for your language.

On air talent

HLTV lists the main broadcast talent, including:
Hosts and interviewers: BanKs, DarfMike
Analysts: Mauisnake, Pimp
Commentators: launders, Scrawny, Hugo, JustHarry