BLAST Bounty preview - 100T vs Falcons headlines first event of the season

Ah, finally. We were starting to see the light.

Tier one Counter-Strike is back; not so much with a bang as a ‘pop’, but we’ll take it. BLAST Bounty combines one of the coolest, most interesting formats with one of the least interesting modes of play - online. It’s a crying shame, because with a full LAN it would be one of the most fun and unique events of the year.

32 teams enter, eight go to the finals. Lower ranked teams get their pick of the higher ranks, and a win makes them cash money. Taking into consideration there’s new teams, first event of the season and it’s online, there’s money to be won for underdogs.

The top four are here, with NAVI notably absent, but nothing has changed with them, so whatever. We do get a good look at a whole host of new rosters below them, though.

The new-look Aurora get a test against a tricky FOKUS team to start their run, which is a fun one. We’re intrigued if not over-excited by this version of Aurora, and would like convincing. Similarly, G2, who made a move we didn’t like, test their new AWPer against Nemiga, who are a perennial banana skin.

The absolute pick of the matches though is, undoubtedly, 100 Thieves vs Falcons. We don’t care if you don’t like online games, you’re out and it’s nice weather, you’ve got work or a doctor’s appointment - find a phone screen and watch this one. Major Champions vs one of the most interesting and exciting tier 2 teams around, including the return of device and rain to elite play. A must-watch.

JW’s EYEBALLERS have another shot at an upset against an unrecogniseable FaZe team, and HEROIC and The MongolZ face off in a game that could truly be anything. We don’t know how this HEROIC team will shake out, but at least we’ve seen the players play before. DarkMeister has barely seen DarkMeister play before.

Sharks are on our radar as a team to watch, largely because we think koala might be a player ready to step up a tier, but a tough start against FURIA lowers our expectations. Win that and it all changes.

We’d include Liquid vs Vitality, but with news that ultimate has to play for Liquid to fulfill wildcard requirements, we simply don’t care any more.

Those are the best games of the opening round, but the full list can be found here.

We expect this to be a fun event - it always is, the format lends itself to chaos and drama - but please avoid sweeping conclusions for obvious reasons. Don’t take this one too seriously, just sit back and enjoy it.

Counter-Strike is back, and it feels like it’s been ages. We missed you, brother.