BLAST Open Porto 2026 CS2: Schedule, Teams and Format

Despite the tournament name, most teams will never play in Porto.

The group stage begins at the BLAST Studios in Copenhagen. Only six teams will qualify for the live playoffs at the Super Bock Arena in Portugal.

BLAST Open Porto 2026 dates and locations

The tournament is split into two parts.

Group stage

• Dates: August 26 to 31
• Location: BLAST Studios, Copenhagen
• Teams: 16
• Matches: Best of three
• Format: Two double elimination groups

Playoffs

• Dates: September 4 to 6
• Location: Super Bock Arena, Porto
• Teams: Six
• Format: Single elimination
• Quarterfinals and semifinals: Best of three
• Grand Final: Best of five

Each group contains eight teams. The group winners advance directly to the semifinals, while the teams finishing second and third enter the quarterfinals.

Ten teams will be eliminated before the tournament reaches Porto. The dates, locations and $1.1 million total payout.

BLAST Open Porto 2026 teams

Twelve teams received invitations based on the Valve Regional Standings. Four more qualified through the regional Rising events.

BetBoom were originally expected to compete but withdrew because of visa issues. paiN took the vacant place as the highest seeded runner up from the closed qualifiers.

Group A

• Team Spirit
• FURIA
• NAVI
• G2
• Aurora
• paiN
• DENDELE
• M80

Spirit and FURIA enter as the strongest teams in Group A. NAVI, G2 and Aurora appear to be the main contenders for the third playoff place.

The opening round could still disrupt that hierarchy. DENDELE beat FURIA 2:1 at BLAST Bounty, while Aurora and G2 begin the tournament in a direct elimination bracket matchup.

Group B

• Vitality
• MOUZ
• Falcons
• FUT
• Legacy
• 9z
• Inner Circle
• Lynn Vision

Group B is far more compressed.

It includes Major champions Falcons, defending BLAST Open champions Vitality, BLAST Bounty winners MOUZ and two of the biggest stories from the EWC playoffs.

FUT defeated MOUZ twice at EWC 2026. Legacy eliminated both NAVI and Falcons without dropping a map. FUT and Legacy will now meet in the opening round in Copenhagen.

Opening match schedule

All times are listed in UTC.

August 26

August 27

The rest of the schedule will depend on the opening results and the progression of both double elimination brackets.

Winio Power Ranking

The Winio Power Ranking reflects each team’s strength before BLAST Open Porto 2026.

It considers recent form, opponent quality, roster stability, EWC results and performance at BLAST Bounty. This is a tournament level ranking, not a prediction for every individual matchup.

1. Team Spirit
2. FURIA
3. Vitality
4. FUT
5. MOUZ
6. Legacy
7. Falcons
8. G2
9. NAVI
10. Aurora
11. 9z
12. DENDELE
13. paiN
14. Inner Circle
15. Lynn Vision
16. M80

Spirit remain first because of their baseline strength and consistency in best of three series. FURIA move into second after reaching the EWC semifinals.

Vitality still have a championship level core, but using jL in place of mezii adds uncertainty. FUT and Legacy receive the largest boosts after their wins over MOUZ, NAVI and Falcons.

Falcons sit only seventh. Winning the Major demonstrated their ceiling, but this ranking measures the team’s condition before Porto rather than the size of its latest trophy.

Main contenders

Team Spirit

Spirit hold the top position in the VRS and bring one of the strongest lineups in the field. They won PGL Astana and reached the BLAST Bounty Grand Final.

Their biggest advantage remains individual impact. donk, sh1ro and tN1R can change a series even when the team structure is not working perfectly.

The EWC loss to JiJieHao exposed a potential weakness. Spirit can struggle against aggressive opponents whose tendencies are difficult to prepare for.

FURIA

FURIA reached the EWC semifinals after defeating 9z, Aurora and G2.

The team has become more stable since its roster changes. molodoy provides additional firepower, while YEKINDAR helps FURIA create advantages in opening duels.

Their route through Group A also looks more manageable than the competition waiting on the other side of the draw.

Vitality

Vitality won the first BLAST Open of 2026 by sweeping NAVI 3:0 in the Rotterdam Grand Final.

They will defend the title without mezii, with jL expected to take his place. That change may force Vitality to adjust positions and communication with very little preparation time.

ZywOo, ropz and flameZ preserve the team’s championship ceiling. The temporary lineup still makes their opening matches less predictable.

FUT

FUT can no longer be treated as a team built around a single upset.

They defeated MOUZ twice at EWC. The second series ended 2:0, including a 13:5 win on Ancient.

Much of the roster developed through NAVI Junior. The team’s progress now looks sustainable enough to challenge established top five opponents.

MOUZ

MOUZ won BLAST Bounty before EWC, beating Spirit 3:1 in the Grand Final.

They remain one of the most reliable teams in longer series, but two losses to FUT revealed problems against aggressive and well prepared opponents.

Their opening match against 9z should show whether those issues were matchup specific or part of a wider decline.

Teams that could surprise

Legacy

Legacy swept NAVI and Falcons during the EWC playoffs.

try finished the series against Falcons with a 1.49 rating, while latto recorded 1.37. Their first match against FUT will immediately test which EWC breakthrough is more likely to continue in Copenhagen.

DENDELE

DENDELE sit only twelfth in the Winio Power Ranking, but they have already shown that they can beat elite opponents.

They defeated FURIA 2:1 in July. The deciding map on Cache required overtime and ended 16:14.

Facing Spirit in the opening round is a much harder test, but DENDELE should not be treated as a routine first round opponent.

Inner Circle

The European qualifier winners begin against Vitality.

That would normally be one of the most difficult opening matches possible. Vitality’s temporary roster gives Inner Circle a rare opportunity to face the defending champions before their new positions and communication have fully settled.

BLAST Open Porto 2026 prize pool

The total payout is $1.1 million.

Of that amount, $400,000 is distributed as player prize money. Another $700,000 is allocated through club payments.

The champion receives $150,000 in player prize money, plus a $100,000 club payment.

BLAST Open Porto 2026 map pool

HLTV currently lists the following map pool:

• Ancient
• Anubis
• Cache
• Dust2
• Inferno
• Mirage
• Nuke

Cache is becoming an increasingly important part of professional CS2 after returning to the active rotation. It has already shaped several close series and could become a major veto factor in Copenhagen and Porto.

There is one point of uncertainty. HLTV lists all seven maps, while the official BLAST page currently states that the active map pool has not yet been published. Until BLAST confirms it directly, the list should not be treated as final.

What matters before the tournament begins

BLAST Open Porto starts only a few days after the EWC Grand Final. Ten teams in the Porto field also competed in the EWC playoffs in Paris.

The teams that reached the late stages will have very little time to recover, travel and prepare. Earlier eliminations will give other contenders more time to study opponents and develop new veto plans.

That makes Porto more complicated than a simple ranking comparison.

Fatigue, temporary lineups, adaptation to Cache and the short break between tournaments could all shift the balance. The Power Ranking provides a baseline, while probabilities for individual matches should be calculated separately around the opponent, roster and expected map veto.

Track the latest BLAST Open Porto 2026 match probabilities and model updates on Winio.

Winio probabilities are analytical estimates based on available data. They are not guarantees of match outcomes.