The BLAST Bounty Fall LAN kicks off at BLAST Arena Studios on August 14th.
Eight teams are set to fight for the title and complete their Bounty prize pool. Which teams are most likely to end the week as winners?
BLAST Bounty Fall LAN qualified teams
Eight teams qualified for the BLAST Bounty Fall LAN through the Closed Qualifier. All Closed Qualifier teams were selected by the VRS (Valve Regional Standings) Global System.
After two rounds of Closed Qualifiers, the final eight teams are as follows:
- Team Vitality
- MOUZ
- Team Spirit
- The MongolZ
- Aurora Gaming
- Virtus.pro
- Astralis
- Team Liquid
The most surprising teams to have qualified are Astralis, Virtus.pro, and Team Liquid.
To qualify for the LAN, Astralis had to defeat NAVI, who recently competed in the IEM Cologne Playoffs. Astralis were unable to make it out of the Group Stage, falling to Team Vitality and FURIA.
Virtus.pro defeated FaZe Clan to reach the LAN, taking out legendary players including Håvard ‘rain’ Nygaard and Finn ‘Karragan’ Anderson.
For Team Liquid, however, the miracle is simply that they made it to a LAN stage. The team recently came under immense criticism for losing humiliatingly to an academy team, a defeat practically unheard of for a tier one roster.
How do BLAST Bounty tournaments work?
BLAST Bounty Fall follows the new Bounty tournament format, introduced by BLAST for the 2025 Counter-Strike season.
Bounty tournaments seed their competitors based on the VRS Global Standings. Higher-ranked teams have a higher bounty placed on their heads, while the lowest-ranked teams have no value as the tournament starts.
Teams increase the prize money they take home by challenging other teams. Lower-ranked teams chose who to compete against.
If they win, they take the bounty of that team and inherit that team’s seeding. 50% of the bounty is added straight to their prize pool, and the remaining 50% carries over to their next game.
The dynamic prize pool and seeding encourage a more competitive environment.
Bounties kick in at the start of the Closed Qualifier. The final eight teams enter the Playoffs, which are the LAN games beginning on August 14th.
Will Team Vitality add another trophy to their 2025 collection, or will MOUZ finally clinch one of their own?
Despite not reaching the IEM Cologne finals, Team Vitality will likely be the favourites to win BLAST Bounty Fall on Counter-Strike betting sites.
So far in 2025, the team has won the BLAST Austin Major, IEM Dallas, BLAST Rivals Spring, IEM Melbourne, ESL Grand Slam Season 5, BLAST Open Spring, ESL Pro League Season 21, and IEM Katowice.
Despite this immense success, they were unable to win the first BLAST Bounty Spring tournament in January 2025, fuelling their motivation for BLAST Bounty Fall.
MOUZ are also likely to be strong contenders. Despite failing to win titles so far this year, they have made multiple high-profile Playoffs and Grand Finals.
Team Spirit are also entering the competition fresh from winning IEM Cologne. However, underwhelming performances from their star player Danil ‘donk’ Kryshkovets could indicate an uphill battle ahead.
Malta’s BLAST Arena Studios will host the BLAST Bounty Fall Playoffs LAN. All games will be livestreamed on BLAST’s broadcasting channels.
Games begin on August 14th and run to August 17th.
Hannah is a writer specialising in the esports, gaming, and technology sectors. Working for outlets such as Dot Esports, Esports Insider, and of course ENUK, she has developed a love for wider esports and Apex Legends, although it may never surpass her drive to passionately beat her friends in every game of Mariokart. You may have seen her at various esports and gaming events, including ESI London, EGX, Discover: Esports and many League of Legends watch parties.
