Changes to BLAST 2026 circuit: Open quals & more

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Mar 29, 2025March 29, 2025

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With 2025 packed with intense competition, including the ongoing BLAST Open Lisbon, where top teams are battling for their share of the $400,000 prize pool, BLAST is preparing adjustments to the tournament structure for 2026.

Expanded quals for BLAST Open in 2026

Fans can look forward to the BLAST Open in March 2026, set to take place in Europe. The exact location has not been announced yet.

In 2026, the qualification process for BLAST Open events will be slightly adjusted to welcome a broader range of teams.

The revised format introduces 16 additional invites from the Valve Regional Standings (VRS) and 16 places from Open Qualifiers playing in four regional Closed Qualifiers.

The winners of each of these will join the top 12 teams from the VRS in the Open. These closed qualifiers replace the BLAST Rising program.

16 teams outside top-12 will have the chance to qualify for BLAST Open.

Adjustments to the participation fees for 2026

Participation fees for 2026 will also see a slight adjustment, with the total amounts remaining unchanged but the breakdown and distribution mechanisms being refined.

They will now be performance-related and based on the stage a team reaches within a tournament rather than being linked to ranking at the time of invitation.

In making these performance-related payments, BLAST aims to provide consistency with the rest of the ecosystem so performance-related team payments can be included into VRS calculations.

This adjustment ensures that teams performing well throughout the tournament are rewarded more fairly while still maintaining a strong incentive for higher-ranked teams to participate.