BLAST Bounty returns to Malta for third time in a row in 2027

BLAST Bounty returns to Malta for third time in a row in 2027

16 June 2026

Good news for the international esports fans and especially those living in Malta, because BLAST has just announced a return of Blast Bounty to the Mediterranean island in 2027. After successful events in 2025 and 2026, it will mark the third time that one of BLAST’s most exciting Counter-Strike 2 events takes place in Malta and that is not all. The Danish organizer also revealed a new format and several other changes to come. The event, which will officially be called BLAST Bounty Winter 2027, is set to take place from January 11th (2027) to January 24th (2027) at the BLAST Arena Studios in Attard.

Return to Malta

As we wrote earlier, it will be the third consecutive time that BLAST Bounty will be organized in Malta. As part of the official BLAST Premier circuit for Counter-Strike 2, the funds during this tournament are distributed as bounties rather than according to fixed placements. Lower-seeded teams get to choose their opponents after each round and when a lower-seeded team defeats a higher-seeded one, they are awarded 50% of the opponent's bounty. The remaining 50% is carried forward, increasing the reward for whoever defeats the winning team next.

From 32 to 16 teams

The return to Malta will be marked by a few major changes and overhauls to the event’s structure. For starters, the “traditional” field of 32 starting teams has been reduced to 16. Of those 16 teams, 12 will get direct invitations through the Valve Regional Standings (VRS), while the remaining four slots will be determined by regional Qualifiers in Europe, the Americas, and Asia. Each regional Qualifier has four teams who will battle it out with each other to qualify for the main event in Malta.
“BLAST Bounty will now feature 16 teams competing entirely on LAN, raising the level of competition from the very first match”, writes BLAST on its own website, “Teams for both the main Bounty event and the preceding Regional Qualifiers will be invited on 03/11/2026 using the 02/11/2026 VRS update. Teams are consequently seeded on 07/12/2026.”

New acceptance fees

BLAST Bounty 2027 in Malta will also introduce acceptance fees for the first time. These are fees that will be distributed across competing teams based on their VRS rankings. For BLAST Bounty Winter 2027, Valve has reserved no less than $ 400.000 in acceptance fees, as part of a total prize pool for the event that is totalling $ 1,25 million at the moment of writing. The distribution of the $ 400.000 in acceptance fees will be as following:

  • Places 1 to 4: $ 60.000 each
  • Places 5 to 8: $ 30.000 each
  • Places 9 to 16: $ 5.000 each

FAQ / Frequently Asked Questions

  • Where and when is Blast Bounty 2027 taking place?

Earlier this year, BLAST confirmed that BLAST Bounty 2027 (officially called BLAST Bounty Winter 2027) will take place in Malta from January 11th to January 24th at the BLAST Arena Studios in Attard, Malta.

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