BLAST Bounty Season 2: Format, Teams, Schedule and Storylines

July 21 marks the start of BLAST Bounty Season 2 — the most unconventional CS2 tournament of the summer. The online stage runs July 21–26, and the top eight finish the job at the LAN finals from July 30 to August 2 at the BLAST studios in Malta. There is $1,150,000 on the line, and it isn't split by a regular bracket: in the Bounty format, you quite literally collect money off your opponent's head. Here's how it works, who's playing, and what to watch for.

How the Bounty format works

The tournament features 32 teams in single elimination — with two twists. First, the live draft: before each online round, the bottom 16 seeds take turns picking their opponent from the top 16. No blind draw — the underdog decides who to hunt. Second, the bounty system: every team carries a cash bounty. The match winner pockets half of the loser's bounty as prize money, while the other half is added to the winner's own bounty — making them an even juicier target for the next opponent.

Of the total pool, $500,000 is paid out through the bounty mechanic, with another $650,000 in guaranteed club payouts for participation and placement. The deeper you go and the bigger the targets you take down, the more you leave with.

Schedule

Online stage: July 21–26, four matches a day, two rounds (round of 32 and round of 16), each preceded by a draft. LAN finals: July 30 — August 2 in Malta, a regular playoff bracket from the quarterfinals.

Opening day, July 21: Ninjas in Pyjamas — M80, Nemesis — Astralis, Nuclear TigeRES — MOUZ and Alliance — Wildcard. The HEROIC — The MongolZ and Liquid — Vitality matches are set for July 24.

The draft: who picked whom

The first-round draft took place on July 17, and the picks came out bold. 3DMAX, choosing first, took magic. HEROIC pointed at The MongolZ, Liquid picked Vitality themselves — one of the biggest bounties in the tournament, OG went for Spirit, and 100 Thieves chose Major champions Falcons. The format rewards courage: the bigger the target, the bigger the payday. The full first-round bracket with every matchup is further down the page — and it updates automatically as the tournament unfolds.

Just as notable is who is missing: defending champions PARIVISION failed to qualify and won't be defending the Season 1 title they claimed with a 3:0 grand final win over Falcons. Natus Vincere didn't make it either.

The storylines

HEROIC chasing a second trophy in a row. The roster around Brollan was assembled a week before its first event — and promptly won Stake Ranked Episode 3. In his first interview after the move the Swede lamented six days of practice — now the team has both chemistry and momentum.

PR's debut for MOUZ. The academy graduate returned to the system and makes his first appearance for the main roster on July 21 against Nuclear TigeRES — the opponent that picked MOUZ at the draft.

The Liquid saga. First the ruleset forced the team to field benched AWPer ultimate instead of newcomer Jorko; then BLAST reversed course and allowed the updated lineup. The tournament website lists Johnny "JT" Theodosiou as the fifth player — though the organization itself had not officially announced the signing at the time of publication. The new roster's first test comes immediately: against Vitality, whom Liquid picked themselves.

Where to watch

Broadcasts run on BLAST's official Twitch and YouTube channels. The studio lineup features the return of the legendary BARDOLPH and ddk casting duo, alongside launders, Scrawny, Mauisnake and voo, with BanKs and NatTea hosting.

Before it all starts, brush up on the updated Cache guide — the map is in the active pool and is bound to show up. All of the summer's roster moves are in the esblitz transfer feed.