The BLAST organizers decided not to delay and released a list of 12 Counter-Strike teams that confirmed their participation in the upcoming BLAST Open Rotterdam event.
The tournament itself will take place from March 27 to March 29, and the legendary Ahoy Arena in Rotterdam will host the guests. By the way, four squads have already joined this elite list, having chewed their way through the meat grinder of regional qualifications.
On February 9, a dozen of the best teams were officially presented according to the results of the January Valve (VRS) rating — they were the ones who took invitations to this tier-1 tournament. In truth, there was some drama here: the BLAST Open London champions from G2 Esports flew past a direct invitation, stuck in the offensive 13th place of the world top.
But the winners of IEM Krakow from Team Vitality seem to have got a great opportunity to take their eleventh trophy into their piggy bank. The guys from FURIA, who became the second at the last major event, will obviously come to the Netherlands for revenge — the Brazilians have an incredible attitude.
The full roster of BLAST Open Rotterdam 2026 participants looks like this:
-
FURIA
-
Team Falcons
-
Team Vitality
-
Aurora Gaming
-
MOUZ
-
NAVI
-
The MongolZ
-
B8
-
Team Spirit
-
Team Liquid
-
FaZe Clan
-
Parivision
-
Ninjas in Pyjamas
-
9z
-
NRG
-
TYLOO
Interestingly, for most of these roasters, the Rotterdam tournament starts just three days after the final of the 23rd season of the ESL Pro League – let me remind you, it will be held from March 13 to March 15 at the Stockholm Annexet.
Table of Contents
BLAST Open Rotterdam 2026 format
The grid for 16 teams will begin with the group stage, which will be hosted by BLAST Studio in Copenhagen from March 18 to 23. The rosters, in short, will be divided into two eights, and only the top three teams from each group will qualify for the playoffs. The group winners, in fact, immediately fly into the semifinals. Those who took the second and third places will start their way in the quarterfinals, and the seeding will depend on their performance in the group.
Until the decisive match, the teams will fight in the Bo2 format (up to two wins), but in the grand final we will have a full-fledged Bo3 series — it is there that the new champion will be determined.
This busy schedule makes you think about the endurance of the players, because there is practically no time to rest between Stockholm and Rotterdam.
Prize money analysis
The PGL Astana 2026 CS2 prize pool, by the way, broke through the ceiling of 1,600,000 dollars, which is as much as 350,000 more than last season. In fact, this figure turns the event into one of the fattest tournaments of the year, second in weight only to full-fledged Major competitions. Half of this mountain of money, by the way, in the amount of $ 800,000, will be split equally between the clubs, but the second part of the jackpot will go directly to the players.
It’s a good motivator. The guys will tear their veins to the last grenade. The winners will eventually take away $512,000, but even those who take off in the 15th and 16th places will grab $160,000 each — in short, no one will leave Kazakhstan empty-handed.
Prize Pool Distribution (USD)
Such a financial grid, in general, breaks the usual records for tournaments that do not have major status. Astana is now on a par with top events like BLAST or IEM, where champions usually row for 400,000-500,000 dollars. For organizations, this is not just an excuse to amuse their self—esteem, but a real opportunity to invest in a roster – NAVI or Vitality, along the way, have already prepared tactics to grab this jackpot.
However, no matter how tempting the numbers on the receipts may be, the real battle will unfold not only in the wallets, but also in the very structure of the matches, which prepares several surprises for the participants.
