BLAST and MESA Sign Deal to Host Premier Esports In Mongolia
BLAST has announced a landmark partnership with the Mongolian Esports Association (MESA) to host world-class arena esports in Mongolia - the first time a tier one event has come to Ulaanbaatar.
The partnership includes BLAST's first event in Central Asia and one of the most significant investments yet made in Mongolia's esports future - pairing BLAST's global platform with MESA's role as the driving force behind the country's rapidly growing competitive gaming scene.
The agreement and partnership includes the BLAST Premier Open Ulaanbaatar, taking place 10th-23rd May 2027 at Steppe Arena. This is a landmark moment in a massive Counter-Strike market, giving fans, sponsors and the local industry more opportunities to watch and engage with tier one esports events.
MESA's role as Mongolia's long-standing national esports association, and the ecosystem it has already built, gave BLAST the confidence to make this investment. The agreement is built on shared investment into Mongolian esports: MESA will bring local infrastructure and expertise needed to host events of this scale in Ulaanbaatar, creating an opportunity to further activate Mongolia's existing esports, media and fan infrastructure at a larger scale, while BLAST will bring the production, broadcast and tournament expertise to deliver a genuinely world-class experience.
Mongolia's Counter-Strike fans are known across the region for the energy and emotion they bring to competition - among the most passionate in the world, filling arenas and staying up through the night to follow tournaments played thousands of miles away. That passion found its biggest stage yet in 2025, when TheMongolz reached the final of the BLAST.tv Austin Major, narrowly losing out to Team Vitality - a result that put Mongolia firmly on the global Counter-Strike map. That international performance is now translating into hosting ambition, with BLAST Premier Open Ulaanbaatar seen as a step toward bringing even larger global tournaments to the country. This new partnership gives that momentum a permanent home.
James Woollard, VP of Destinations and Market Development at BLAST, said:
"Mongolia has already shown the world what its Counter-Strike community is capable of with sold-out arenas, all-night watch parties, over five per cent of the Mongolian population tuning into previous BLAST broadcasts and a Major final run few saw coming. This partnership with MESA is about giving that momentum a permanent home. The partnership between BLAST and MESA is a long-term commitment to Central Asia, and proof that Ulaanbaatar has earned its place among the destinations shaping where esport goes next."
Munkhtuvshin Tsagaan, President of Mongolian Esports Association (MESA), said:
“Previously, top-tier esports events in Asia were concentrated in only a small number of destinations. Now Ulaanbaatar has joined that map. Over the next three years, we believe our capital has the opportunity to become one of Asia’s key esports hubs.”
Tuvshinbileg Lkhagvasuren, Founder of The Mongolz, said:
“We have world-class players, strong teams and an association capable of delivering major competitions. Not every country has all of these elements working together, and that puts Mongolia in a very strong position.”
Ulaanbaatar joins a global BLAST Premier calendar that has visited London, Fort Worth, Hong Kong, Singapore and Lisbon - marking Central Asia's arrival on that map for the first time. The partnership reflects how major esports tournaments are evolving into cultural and economic cornerstones in their own right, rivalling traditional international sporting events in scale, reach and significance.
BLAST Premier Open Ulaanbaatar will see 16 teams compete across two weeks of LAN competition for a total prize pool of $1,250,000 USD ($500,000 in prize money and $750,000 in team payments), with teams invited via the Global VRS rankings and BLAST Premier regional qualifiers, including two places reserved for the Asia Qualifier. It marks BLAST's first-ever event in Mongolia and one of a wave of new destinations in 2027 - alongside Rio de Janeiro, Singapore, Hong Kong and Malta - as BLAST Premier continues taking its biggest tournaments directly to fans around the world in 2027.
The partnership positions Ulaanbaatar as a key fixture on the 2027 global esports calendar and MESA as the platform through which Mongolia's next generation of players, fans and local sponsors connect to the world stage - not only a landmark for the Asian esports market, but a moment that puts Ulaanbaatar on the global esports stage, alongside cities like Rio and Singapore.
