BLAST Bounty Season 2 begins with new Astralis and MOUZ projects in action

BLAST Bounty Season 2 starts on July 21, with 32 teams entering the online stage. The opening day is led by two roster storylines: Astralis play their first official match under NEO, while MOUZ debut the completed lineup built around PR and new in-game leader xertioN.

The Bounty format gives lower-seeded teams the right to choose opponents from the upper half of the field. That makes the first round more revealing than a conventional seeded bracket: every favorite faces a team that actively selected the matchup.

Opening-day schedule

NEO begins his Astralis rebuild

Nemesis vs Astralis will be the first official test for the new coaching structure built around NEO and performance coach Xirreth.

One online Bo3 cannot show whether Astralis have solved their long-term problems. The useful early indicators will be simpler: clearer roles, more stable map-to-map execution and fewer disjointed rounds against an opponent they should be able to control.

MOUZ debut PR and xertioN’s leadership

MOUZ face Nuclear TigeRES after signing PR from GamerLegion. The move completes an academy-heavy lineup that also includes torzsi, xertioN and xelex, all former MOUZ NXT players.

The match will also provide the first competitive look at xertioN as in-game leader. Against a lower-seeded opponent, MOUZ will be expected to establish control through structure rather than rely on individual recoveries after unstable starts.

Winio analysis

Astralis and MOUZ enter the tournament with more uncertainty than most opening-day favorites. Both organizations have changed not only personnel, but also the systems responsible for leadership and preparation.

The first matches will not determine whether either rebuild succeeds. They can still reveal whether the new projects already have a coherent starting point—or whether the same structural problems have survived the offseason changes.