After four days of non-stop competitive Counter-Strike 2 action, the opening stage of BLAST Bounty Season 1 has come to a close. 32 teams entered the Bounty, but only 16 will be moving on to the next stage. From upsets to history-makers, let’s take a look at some of the big headlines from the first stage of BLAST Bounty Season 1!
MOUZ shocked by new-look BetBoom
Credit: Enos Ku | © ESL
Of all the matches in the opening stage of BLAST Bounty Season 1, the biggest upset by far came in MOUZ vs. BetBoom. This was a match most would have MOUZ as winning comfortably, which was reflected in the $30k bounty on offer here. However, this new-look BetBoom team, bolstered by the arrivals of Boombl4 and Ax1Le, were able to emerge victorious in a dramatic 2:1 series.
It won’t be alarm bells ringing for MOUZ. It’s the first CS2 event in 2025, so some rust is allowed out of the gate, and the single-elimination format here is particularly brutal. However, as one of the few rosters to not make changes in the off-season, you’d expect them to look a little better than they did here. They’ll be hoping for a swift bounceback at Katowice later this month.
Fresh G2 and FaZe rosters survive early scares
Credit: Igor Bezborodov | © ESL
G2 and FaZe were another two teams to make changes over the last month. G2 added HeavyGod to replace NiKo, while FaZe swapped out ropz for EliGE. Their opening matches at BLAST Bounty Season 1 came under massive scrutiny, and both very nearly ended in total disaster. FaZe came out on top against M80, while G2 survived by the skin of their teeth against B8. Both series were 2:1 affairs, but G2 and FaZe can count themselves lucky to still be in the tournament.
As with any new roster, you could tell that FaZe and G2 were using the opening matches of BLAST Bounty to try out a few new things. That’s fair – we expect both teams to get better as this tournament progresses, presuming they both make it into the LAN section of the event.
Imperial fe make history against NAVI
Credit: Helena Kristiansson | © ESL
History-makers Imperial fe have dominated the ESL Impact scene for some years now, and showed no fear picking into NAVI at the start of BLAST Bounty Season 1. The narrative here prior to the match made it sound like no one expected them to win a round, but they exceeded all expectations against arguably the best CS2 team in the world.
A series victory here felt like a step too far, but keeping it competitive, shooting back hard, and showing that the girls can play was a massive win for female CS everywhere. If a few more 1v1s went their way, then a map win wasn’t out of the question here. They may have lost 13:7 and 13:8, but other teams frequently do much worse against NAVI. These girls are real competitors, though, and won’t be satisfied. Next, they head to the Katowice Play-In, where they have the chance to play FURIA in another historic moment for female Counter-Strike.
Falcons off to winning start with NiKo
Credit: Adam Lakomy | © ESL
All eyes were on Team Falcons as they took on ENCE. This was NiKo’s debut after his big-money move to Falcons, as well as the ex-Heroic core of TeSeS, kyxsan, and degster. The pressure was immense, but Falcons were able to resist in a 2:0 series.
That’s not to say ENCE couldn’t have won this, though. They had their chances, but inexperience came up short as NiKo started life well in a Falcons jersey. Let’s be honest, though. The media attention surrounding NiKo’s move to Falcons is going to continue throughout the rest of the team’s stint at BLAST Bounty Season 1, and probably beyond.
Business as usual for Spirit and Vitality
Credit: Helena Kristiansson | © ESL
Coming into BLAST Bounty Season 1, most would have put both Vitality and Spirit as two of the favorites in the overall event. Spirit, on the back of their PW Shanghai Major 2024 win, came into the event unchanged, while Vitality arrived with ropz replacing Spinx going forward. Well, there were no surprises to be had in their matches.
Spirit made short work of Fnatic, even getting some practice on Train in there for good measure. Meanwhile, Vitality took down a Metizport team led by new IGL Hampus, both coming up 2:0 winners respectively. We love shock results at the BLAST Bounty, but we saw these results coming a mile off.
What are you thinking of the BLAST Bounty format so far? Do you think it’s refreshing, or do you prefer the old BLAST way of doing things?