BLAST Porto: NAVI and Vitality Lose Openers
BLAST Open Porto 2026 opens with upsets: M80 came back from 0:1 against NAVI, Inner Circle swept a mezii-less Vitality. Spirit, G2, FURIA and MOUZ won 2:0.
The group stage of BLAST Open Porto 2026 kicked off on 26 August in Copenhagen — with two upsets straight away. Natus Vincere lost 1:2 to M80, dropping the series after winning the first map, and Vitality, playing without mezii, went down 0:2 to Inner Circle. Both teams fell into the lower bracket of their groups before the first weekend of a $1,100,000 event. The favourites went to plan: Spirit, G2, FURIA and MOUZ won their openers 2:0.
Opening-round results
| Group | Match | Score |
|---|---|---|
| A | Aurora — G2 | 0:2 |
| Spirit — DENDELE | 2:0 | |
| Natus Vincere — M80 | 1:2 | |
| FURIA — paiN | 2:0 | |
| B | Vitality — Inner Circle | 0:2 |
| MOUZ — 9z | 2:0 |
The last two Group B openers — Legacy vs FUT and Falcons vs Lynn Vision — are played on 27 August; their results and the live brackets of both groups update on the tournament page.
NAVI: reverse-swept by M80
NAVI took the first map, but M80 won the next two and closed the series 2:1. For the North American side it was their debut match in Porto; for NAVI it is the second event in a row going off script: at the Esports World Cup they won their group through the upper bracket and then lost 0:2 to Legacy in the round of 16. Now the road to the playoffs runs through the Group A lower bracket, starting against paiN.
Vitality: 0:2 without mezii
Vitality faced Inner Circle without mezii and lost both maps. As onic of Inner Circle put it to HLTV, "today we were mentally much, much stronger". For Vitality this extends a run: dropping out of the ranking's top four, a quarterfinal loss to Spirit at the EWC — and now the Group B lower bracket, where 9z await.
The favourites: a donk ace for Spirit, anger for FURIA
EWC champions Spirit beat DENDELE 2:0, with donk landing an ace in the series — a rarity even for him, as HLTV noted. G2 went past Aurora 2:0 on the back of r1nkle, and MOUZ dealt with 9z just as cleanly. FURIA routed paiN 2:0, and YEKINDAR explained it to HLTV bluntly: "After EWC, we felt angry at ourselves; I guess that actually helped."
What comes next: format and upcoming matches
The groups are double elimination, best-of-3: the group winner goes straight to the semifinal, second and third place go to the quarterfinals. The playoffs move to Porto, with a best-of-5 grand final.
- Group A upper bracket: G2 — Spirit, M80 — FURIA.
- Group A lower bracket: Natus Vincere — paiN, Aurora — DENDELE.
- Group B: Inner Circle — MOUZ in the upper bracket, Vitality — 9z in the lower; Legacy — FUT and Falcons — Lynn Vision close out the opening round.
Brackets, schedule and the team ranking are in our CS2 tournaments section.
Frequently asked questions
Who did NAVI lose to at BLAST Open Porto 2026?
M80 — 1:2 in the Group A opener on 26 August: NAVI won the first map and lost the next two.
Why did Vitality play without mezii?
No official reason had been given at the time of publication — HLTV only reported that Vitality faced Inner Circle without mezii and lost 0:2.
Are NAVI and Vitality out of the tournament?
No. The groups are double elimination: both teams continue in the lower bracket — NAVI against paiN, Vitality against 9z.
Source
Match results and brackets — HLTV.org; the onic and YEKINDAR quotes are from HLTV's coverage. Our brackets update automatically on the tournament hub.
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