BLAST Bounty 2026 Season 2 will move to LAN from July 30 through August 2, with eight teams heading to BLAST’s Arena Studios in Malta for the event’s final stage. Spirit survived the online bracket as the only one of the tournament’s main pre-event favorites, putting Danil ‘donk’ Kryshkovets and his team in the spotlight.
The qualified field is made up of Spirit, MOUZ, The MongolZ, FaZe, Astralis, paiN, Liquid, and 3DMAX. The winner will claim the first Tier 1 trophy of the season, but the road to the title will not be easy for Spirit despite its strong position entering the LAN.
Spirit enters as the team to beat
Spirit defeated OG and 100 Thieves during the online stage, while the other teams expected to contend for the tournament were eliminated before the move to Malta. Falcons, the IEM Cologne 2026 Major champions, fell to 100 Thieves in a 2-1 series. Aurora lost to FOKUS, Liquid knocked out Vitality, and FURIA was eliminated by DENDELE.
That string of results leaves Spirit with the clearest claim to favoritism. Online matches can produce uneven results, especially when many Tier 1 teams are returning to competition after a break. Lower-tier teams also had more recent match practice through events such as the XSE Pro League and Stake Ranked Episode 3.
Spirit’s biggest weapon remains donk. Against 100 Thieves on Dust 2, the player set a new personal HLTV rating record for a map, recording 20 kills across 13 rounds as Spirit dominated the match. With Falcons, Vitality, and FURIA already out, every remaining team will need a clear answer for the young star.
Liquid and FaZe bring new variables
Liquid will arrive in Malta after taking its first steps with Johnny ‘jT’ Theodosiou as the team’s new in-game leader. The early results were positive, with Liquid defeating both Vitality and G2 to reach the LAN finals. That gives the revamped lineup momentum, although the event will provide a much tougher test than the online stage.
FaZe also has a new piece in Jason Boe ‘JBOEN’ Nielsen. The AWPer has shown promise since joining the roster, but the Malta event will be his first Tier 1 LAN competition.
The MongolZ will play their first tournament after making two roster changes, including the departure of Ayush ‘mzinho’ Batbold to BC.Game. Their qualification adds another question mark to a finals field where several teams are still building toward their best form.
MOUZ could be Spirit’s toughest challenge
MOUZ may have the most stable platform from which to challenge Spirit. The team re-signed Oldřich ‘PR’ Nový during the offseason and spent the end of last season testing different leadership arrangements.
Dorian ‘xertioN’ Berman received time as the in-game leader for the new season, while Adrian ‘xelex’ Vincze also began settling into the role. Whether those experiments give MOUZ an edge in Malta will become clearer once the LAN matches begin.
The rest of the field still has a chance to change the story. FaZe’s new AWPer, Liquid’s rebuilt leadership, and The MongolZ’s altered lineup all add uncertainty to the bracket. Still, Spirit enters the finals with the strongest recent results and the player most capable of taking over a series.
BLAST Bounty 2026 Season 2’s LAN finals will run at Arena Studios in Malta from July 30 to August 2. Spirit may be the clear favorite, but the online stage already showed how quickly expectations can fall apart.
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