The first tournament phase at BLAST Open Spring 2026 divides the 16 invited CS2 teams into two groups. The matchups are intriguing.
Counter-Strike 2 (CS2) esports tournament BLAST Open Spring 2026 starts with a group stage. The chance to play in front of a big crowd in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, is at stake. The prize money significantly increases for the main event, too.
All of the top teams are competing in this event, including Vitality’s current world-best roster. Arguably, the main storyline in the final bracket will be their tournament-winning streak. During the group stage, BLAST Open Spring 2026 should showcase the current form of these powerhouses while continuing the underdogs versus favorites drama from EPL Season 23.
How to watch the group stage matches at BLAST Open Spring 2026: Stream
The official Blast Premier channels on YouTube and Twitch stream the entire group stage at BLAST Open Spring 2026.
Schedule of the BLAST Open Spring 2026 group stage
The group stage matches happen from March 18 to March 23. The detailed schedule is shown in the table below.
| Estimated start | Matches |
|---|---|
| 12 p.m. CET / 7 a.m. ET, March 23 | NAVI 2:0 Aurora 13:8 on Anubis 13:10 on Nuke |
| 2:30 p.m. CET / 9:30 a.m. ET, March 23 | Falcons 2:1 FURIA 13:11 on Mirage 13:16 on Dust II 13:10 on Nuke |
| 5 p.m. CET / 12 p.m. ET, March 23 | PARIVISION 0:2 Vitality 10:13 on Mirage 12:16 on Inferno Dust II |
| 7:30 p.m. CET / 2:30 p.m. ET, March 23 | The MongolZ 2:0 Spirit 13:11 on Nuke 13:9 on Overpass |
Matchups and group stage results at CS2 esports BLAST Open Spring 2026
The 16 teams in the BLAST Open Spring 2026 group stage aim to advance to the main event. Two slots are available in the upper brackets. If a team falls to the lower brackets, they must battle for a remaining spot.
Group A
| Upper quarterfinals | Upper semifinals | Upper final | To playoffs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Falcons 2:0 NRG 13:6 on Ancient 13:6 on Dust II | Falcons 1:2 NAVI 13:9 on Mirage 9:13 on Inferno 9:13 on Dust II | NAVI 2:0 Aurora 13:8 on Anubis 13:10 on Nuke | NAVI (semi) |
| NAVI 2:1 B8 13:9 on Mirage 17:19 on Ancient 13:7 on Dust II | Aurora (quarter) | ||
| FaZe 1:2 Aurora 11:13 on Nuke 13:8 on Inferno 13:10 on Dust II | Aurora 2:0 FURIA 16:14 on Dust II 6:13 on Inferno | ||
| FURIA 2:0 TYLOO 13:8 on Mirage 13:11 on Overpass |
| Lower quarterfinals | Lower semifinals | Lower final | To playoffs |
|---|---|---|---|
| FaZe 1:2 TYLOO 11:13 on Mirage 13:8 on Ancient 11:13 on Overpass | Falcons 2:1 TYLOO 14:16 on Inferno 13:1 on Ancient 13:2 on Mirage | Falcons 2:1 FURIA 13:11 on Mirage 13:16 on Dust II 13:10 on Nuke | Falcons (quarter) |
| NRG 2:0 B8 6:13 on Inferno 9:13 on Ancient | FURIA 2:1 NRG 10:13 on Mirage 13:2 on Nuke 13:7 on Dust II |
Openers
- Opening matches with clear favorites finished with no big surprises: Falcons, NAVI, and FURIA won their matches. Only NAVI gave one map to the underdog opponents: B8 won on Ancient in a close overtime.
- FaZe lost to Aurora Gaming. This result may proclaim another awful tournament for CS2: still, BLAST Open Spring 2026 continues, and the team has other chances.
First elimination and advancement matches
- FaZe lost another match and got eliminated from BLAST Open Spring 2026. The series of no-playoff CS2 events in 2026 continues for this team.
- NAVI, on the other hand, have a series of six match wins in a row. They defeated Falcons to qualify for the LAN event in Rotterdam.
- Aurora won their qualification match over FURIA.
Path to the lower final
- Falcons made their fans nervous after the Inferno loss to TYLOO. Then, Falcons recovered and delivered two dominant maps: 13:1 on Ancient and 13:1 on Mirage.
- FURIA almost repeated this script in their elimination match against NRG.
Final elimination and placement matches
- In a very close and somewhat controversial match against FURIA, Team Falcons earned their BLAST Open Rotterdam playoff spot. A technical issue with YEKINDAR’s mouse, talks of FURIA players without headsets, and a short leave of KSCERATO caused quite a discussion in the community.
- NAVI repeated their EPL S23 win over Aurora, so they will start the playoffs with the semifinals.
Group B
| Upper quarterfinals | Upper semifinals | Upper final | To playoffs |
|---|---|---|---|
| PARIVISION 2:1 NiP 13:11 on Ancient 6:13 on Mirage 13:8 on Dust II | PARIVISION 2:0 Spirit 13:3 on Anubis 13:8 on Ancient | PARIVISION 0:2 Vitality 10:13 on Mirage 12:16 on Inferno Dust II | Vitality (semi) |
| Spirit 2:0 Liquid 13:8 on Mirage 13:11 on Ancient | PARIVISION (quarter) | ||
| MOUZ 0:2 The MongolZ 11:13 on Nuke 3:13 on Inferno | The MongolZ 0:2 Vitality 13:4 on Mirage 16:13 on Overpass | ||
| Vitality 2:0 9Z 13:3 on Overpass 13:4 on Nuke |
| Lower quarterfinals | Lower semifinals | Lower final | To playoffs |
|---|---|---|---|
| MOUZ vs 9Z 13:11 on Dust II 8:13 on Inferno 8:13 on Nuke | 9Z 0:2 Spirit 6:13 on Overpass 6:13 on Dust II | The MongolZ 2:0 Spirit 13:11 on Nuke 13:9 on Overpass | The MongolZ |
| NiP 1:2 Liquid 13:3 on Nuke 17:19 on Mirage 9:13 on Ancient | The MongolZ 2:0 Liquid 16:14 on Ancient 13:10 on Mirage |
Openers
- PARIVISION had a tough match against Ninjas in Pyjamas. They still won it to face a bigger challenge in the advancement match, Team Spirit.
- MOUZ delivered another disaster. Not only did they lose to The MongolZ, but they also had a 3:13 on Inferno.
- Spirit and Vitality defeated their opponents. Liquid gave Spirit quite a fight, but 9Z Team crumbled under the might of Vitality.
First elimination and advancement matches
- Another big surprise of the BLAST Open Spring 2026 is the win of 9Z Team over MOUZ. In fact, one of the favorites got eliminated after this upset.
- PARIVISION defeated Team Spirit to qualify for the LAN event in Rotterdam. Team Vitality joined them with their win over The MongolZ.
Path to the lower final
- Spirit and The MongolZ eliminated 9Z and Team Liquid.
Final elimination and placement matches
- Team Vitality confirmed their status as the best roster in CS2 esports at the moment. They defeated PARIVISION in Group B placement match — to secure a semifinal spot.
- The MongolZ defeated and eliminated Team Spirit.
Playoff brackets at Blast Open 2026 Rotterdam
Groups analysis: Big challenges and clashes of the top teams
The group stage at BLAST Open Spring 2026 is a chance to experiment with CS2 esports betting. You should always keep in mind that no win is guaranteed here, so bet responsibly.
Proving their top status
In Group A, the favorites face a tough challenge. Some aim to bounce back from bitter losses. Others look to prove the consistency of their results.
- FURIA couldn’t advance to the EPL Season 23 playoffs, which is disappointing for a team of this level. Their success against TYLOO and then FaZe/Aurora feels to be a very likely outcome.
- Aurora reached the grand final at EPL Season 23. Them playing against FaZe is a good challenge, but FaZe Clan just fell apart this year with no playoff presence in four tournaments.
- NAVI celebrated their win at ESL Pro League Season 23, which became their first trophy in a very long time. B8 is hardly a challenge for NAVI. However, they potentially have Team Falcons as opponents.
- For Falcons, skipping the ESL Pro League S23 could give them time to recover from no wins in two playoffs at PGL Cluj-Napoca and IEM Kraków 2026. The team still should qualify for the main event at BLAST Open Spring 2026.
Tournament-winner material
Group B features matchups of the potential BLAST Open Spring 2026 winners.
- Team Vitality can continue their amazing tournament runs. Moving through 9z is more like a warm-up match for the best CS2 team in the world. However, the semifinal is still a challenge even for Vitality.
- MOUZ must recover emotionally after losing to FUT Esports at EPL Season 23. Their opening match against The MongolZ can go both ways, as their opponents showed some progress with recent roster changes.
- In theory, Spirit are the favorites against Team Liquid. However, losing to Astralis at the previous event is not reassuring.
- PARIVISION players are on a rollercoaster: from winning BLAST Bounty Winter 2026 and being in the grand final at IEM Kraków 2026 to not making it from the online stage of EPL S23.
The playoffs of BLAST Open Spring 2026 happen from March 27 to March 29.
Right after this event, we can witness PGL Bucharest 2026 from April 3 to April 11. The level of participating teams is much lower here as the top competitors prepare for IEM Rio 2026, which starts on April 13.