All you need to know about Bounty in 2027

March 06, 2026

3:02 PM

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Last week, we revealed the new look and changes to the 2027 season. Now it’s time to take a closer look at the changes we’re implementing to Bounty.

BLAST’s boldest event will return to Malta with its new 16-team format, played out fully on LAN from start to finish, and with more ways for teams to earn prize money throughout.

Returning to Malta

Malta is quickly becoming a recognisable home for BLAST Bounty following events in 2025 and 2026. We’re excited to host our season-opening Bounty at our BLAST Arena Studios in Ta' Qali, bringing more world-class Counter-Strike to Malta in January next year.

A tighter field of 16 teams

BLAST Bounty will now feature 16 teams competing entirely on LAN, raising the level of competition from the very first match. Teams will qualify through two routes:

12 teams invited through the Valve Global Rankings
Four teams qualifying through closed regional qualifiers in Europe, North America, South America and Asia

Invitation Dates

Teams for both the main Bounty event and the preceding Regional Qualifiers will be invited on 03/11/2026 using the 02/11/2026 VRS update.

Teams are consequently seeded on 07/12/2026. The Tournament Participation Rescission Deadline is 17/11/2026 at 13:00 UTC.

Qualifiers

Qualifiers will offer a new route into Bounty for teams across the ecosystem.

Four teams will be invited via Regional VRS to each Closed Regional Qualifier, totalling 16 invited teams, meaning that, along with the 12 invited directly to the main event, we’ll invite 28 teams using the VRS.

In addition to this, we’ll run open qualifiers in each region with four teams advancing from the open qualifiers to the closed qualifiers. All qualifiers are hosted online.

Play Ins: Four groups, double elimination

The event begins with a Play In stage where all 16 teams are split into four double elimination groups of four with a new drafting process mechanic. Finishing positions determine both progression and added prize money.

1st place: Advances directly to the quarterfinals and earns a bonus $30,000USD prize money.
2nd and 3rd place: Move into a Round-of-16 Last Chance Qualifier
4th place: Eliminated with $5,000 USD prize money and 10,000 USD team payment

Winning the group carries a huge advantage. Those teams skip the new LCQ entirely and head straight to the Quarter Finals, whilst also being in the driving seat for the Playoff draft process.

Last Chance Qualifier: One more shot

Eight teams enter the Last Chance Qualifier, battling for the final four playoff spots. Teams carry bounty values into the LCQ depending on their Play-In finish:

2nd place teams: $25,000 bounty
3rd place teams: $15,000 bounty

Teams eliminated at this stage earn $10,000 in prize money and $25,000 in team payment, while the winners move on to face the group winners in the playoffs.

The Playoffs

The four Play In winners enter the bracket directly at the quarterfinal stage with $40,000 bounties attached, awaiting the victors from the Ro16 Last Chance Qualifier. From there, the tournament follows a knockout bracket, building towards the BLAST Bounty Grand Final, which remains a best-of-five showdown. Every series increases the stakes as teams hunt down bigger bounties and push toward the title.

Drafting returns

Drafting remains one of BLAST Bounty’s most unique features, and it returns with a few new twists. For the Play In stage, the four highest-seeded teams are automatically placed into separate groups. The remaining teams then choose their preferred group through a drafting order:

Seeds 13–16 pick first, starting with seed 13
Seeds 9–12 pick next, starting with seed 9
Seeds 5–8 pick last, starting with seed 5

Drafting also plays a role in the playoffs. Last chance qualifier matches are pre-drawn, and group winners decide where Last Chance Qualifier matches are placed into the Playoff bracket.

The highest-seeded group winner chooses the Ro16 match that precedes their Quarter Final, moving across the group winners one by one until the bracket is formed. The lowest-seeded group winner is given the ability to then choose which side of the bracket they play on.

Bounty values

Teams also enter the later stages with bounty values attached:

Group winners: $40,000
2nd place teams: $25,000
3rd place teams: $15,000

Acceptance fees

New for 2027, teams will also receive acceptance fees based on their ranking at the time of invitation. In total, $400,000 in acceptance fees will be distributed across the event, broken down as:

Rank 1–4: $60,000
Rank 5–8: $30,000
Rank 9–16: $5,000