What To Expect From BLAST Open Rotterdam 2026 – Group Stages

The first season of 2026 is firmly underway, with BLAST Bounty 2026 Season 1, IEM Kraków 2026, PGL Cluj-Napoca, and ESL Pro League Season 23 behind us already. The professional landscape is developing, with storylines, teams, and individuals coming to the forefront in the opening part of the year. 

PARIVISION took the victory in BLAST Bounty – the first event of 2026 – starting the year off with a bang. Vitality returned to their dominant form in Kraków, with a crazy performance from Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut to close out the final. A battle of the two opening victors of the year took place in the final of PGL Cluj-Napoca, with Vitality besting PARIVISION to take home yet another trophy and, finally, Natus Vincere emerged victorious in Stockholm to take the EPL Season 23 crown.

So, the stage is set for all three victorious squads – and an array of contenders looking for their first trophy of the year – to do battle in Rotterdam this month. Let’s take a look at what to expect from the group stage, so you can head into BLAST Rotterdam 2026 fully informed.

The Groups

Group A

• Falcons
• NRG
• NAVI
• B8
• FaZe
• Aurora
• FURIA
• TYLOO

Group B

• PARIVISION
• NIP
• Spirit
• Liquid
• MOUZ
• The MongolZ
• Vitality
• 9z

Group A

Falcons vs NRG

The opening game of Group A looks set to be a fairly one-sided affair. It’s safe to say that Falcons will be looking to get off to a hot start in Rotterdam, with their last two runs ending in an 8th-place finish in Cluj-Napoca and 7th in Kraków. Damjan “kyxsan” Stoilkovski and co will be looking for a more dominant victory than their last match-up with NRG, in which the NA team took Ancient 13-11.

On paper – as can often be said with Falcons games – the individuals on the Saudi org should be able to dominate this opening battle fairly handily. This, alongside the fact that NRG head into Rotterdam on a string of losses to HEROIC, Monte, and Ninjas in Pyjamas, respectively, sets the stage for a fairly comfortable opening victory for the star-studded superteam. Of course, betting on Falcons to make any game smooth sailing is often a risky call, but their capacity to rip defeat from the jaws of victory is waning somewhat of late. Good news for Nikola “NiKo” Kovač, who must be tired of images of him in various distraught states doing the rounds on social media.

My prediction? A relatively comfortable 2-0 for the Falcons.

NAVI vs B8

B8 is a team that has been struggling to find meaningful consistency recently. They can pull off fairly significant wins – a 2-1 victory against FURIA in the latest season of EPL, for example – but they don’t seem to be able to make that form stick.

Natus Vincere, on the other hand…

Coming into Rotterdam right off the back of a victory in ESL Pro League will see Aleksi “Aleksib” Virolainen and his boys full of confidence. Sure, a couple of the bigger names in CS were missing from EPL Season 23, but that will do little – if anything – to quell the burgeoning feeling of improvement and momentum for NAVI. This, coupled with the fact that in their last three Bo3 head-to-heads against B8, they have not dropped a map, will see NAVI gunning for a smooth start.

I have a feeling that B8 will have had time to prepare for NAVI after three successive Bo3 drubbings, but NAVI’s surge in confidence may well overcome that. My prediction for this match is NAVI taking the victory 2-1.

FaZe vs Aurora

You don’t have to be a paid analyst to realize that FaZe Clan are in trouble. They have long been notorious for making deep, difficult, and stressful runs, but at the moment their typical tournament runs are only characterized by the latter two from that list (other than the Major, of course). I don’t think it is an overstatement to suggest that Finn “karrigan” Andersen and co need a deep run here. I also don’t think a deep run is going to be possible for this FaZe roster unless they have a strong start. It is safe to say that they need momentum – a worrying place to be when your first game is against an in-form Aurora.

Aurora, as we just touched upon, have just had their best run in a long while, reaching the Grand Final of ESL Pro League Season 23. As Engin “MAJ3R” Küpeli said in a post on X after the final, this stumble at the last hurdle felt somewhat like ‘déjà vu’ for the Turkish side. The question is, will they come to Rotterdam full of the fire of a trophy nearly gained, or exhausted and defeated by the emotions of yet another difficult loss?

I think a FaZe in turmoil is going to stumble against an Aurora energized by their run at EPL. I do think FaZe have a map in them, though. My prediction? A scrappy 2-1 victory for Aurora.

FURIA vs TYLOO

FURIA looked a little wobbly in EPL, but that was, to an extent, expected. They headed into the tournament with the news that, should they make the playoffs, their captain, Gabriel “FalleN” Toledo, would not be there with them. They started the year fairly strong, with a second-place finish in IEM Kraków 2026, and a fourth-place finish in BLAST Bounty 2026 Season 1. They will doubtless be looking to regain their form from the latter half of 2025, however, where they looked like the only real contender in a year dominated by Vitality’s brilliance.

TYLOO, on the other hand, don’t look too great right now. A twelfth-place finish in Stage 2 of the StarLadder Budapest Major 2025 was the last time we saw them on the global, Tier One stage. The form they’re in heading into 2026 remains to be seen, but all probability points towards them having a rough time against a FURIA looking to get back to form.

My prediction? A comfortable 2-0 for FURIA.

Group B

PARIVISION vs NIP

The first matchup of Group B is going to be an interesting one. A clashing of styles in the extreme. Dzhami “Jame” Ali’s PARIVISION squad – bolstered by the arrival of Ivan “zweih” Gogin – are playing methodical, measured Counter-Strike supported by frankly crazy aimers. They have been making waves in the last few months, having won BLAST Bounty 2026 Season 1, and finishing second behind Vitality in Cluj-Napoca. They are a notoriously unpleasant team to play against, with Jame’s system rotting the clock, creating gaps, and straining his opponent’s resources.

Ninjas in Pyjamas have a very different approach to the game. The fast-paced, momentum-based calling of Marco “Snappi” Pfeiffer thrives in the scrappier matchups. NIP never look so strong as when they’re trading blows, playing explosive Counter-Strike, and relying on Snappi’s experience to outmanoeuvre their opponents.

This will be a fun game to watch, but my money is on the in-form PARIVISION. NIP can make it weird, though, which is why I’m going to predict a 2-1 victory for PARIVISION, rather than a clean sheet.

Spirit vs Liquid

For a Liquid team struggling as much as they are at the moment, the prospect of an opening bout against Spirit is likely to fill them with dread. Liquid have had a rough go of things for a few months, with a myriad of losses to teams most would expect to be comfortable victories. Teams such as Gaimin Gladiators, Famalicão, OG, and Alliance have got the better of Kamil “siuhy” Szkaradek and his team. Understandably, a Team Spirit victory feels very much on the cards.

Spirit are going to be looking to make a deep run here. Many people thought ESL Pro League Season 23 was going to be theirs for the taking, but a disappointing fifth-place finish left them feeling somewhat underwhelmed. Likely, Danil “donk” Kryshkovets and the rest of Spirit will be gunning for a hot start against a team they will feel confident in playing.

My prediction is a 2-1 victory for Spirit, with a Mario “malbsMd” Samayoa-bolstered Liquid taking a map.

MOUZ vs The MongolZ

MOUZ have been on a bit of a downtrend in the last couple of months, with the Ludvig “Brollan” Brolin-led squad failing to make it past a third-place finish throughout the start of 2026. They are a team under the ever-watchful glare of the cynical Counter-Strike zeitgeist of late, too, as their ‘auraless’ nature has seen a target for mockery placed on their backs. Harsh critics are already suggesting that this iteration of the MOUZ roster might be done for, although a good run in Rotterdam could be just what they need to right the ship.

The MongolZ have also failed to put themselves forward as a real threat at the top of the game, with a couple of Quarter-Finals and a smattering of disappointing finishes resulting in a lacklustre start to the year for IGL Garidmagnai “bLitz” Byambasuren and his pieces.

If I were a cruel writer, I would bill this as the Battle of Mediocrity. Luckily, I’m not. My prediction is a 2-1 victory for MOUZ, but a fine performance from both squads.

Vitality vs 9z

This is perhaps the most ‘foregone conclusion’ feeling matchup of the opening games, with a 9z untested outside of regional CS since the Thunderpick World Championship 2025 in October 2025 facing up against…well, Vitality.

Admittedly, 9z are looking very good regionally, with an 80.6% winrate over the last three months against regional opponents. I hesitate to suggest that this will be enough to overcome Dan “apEX” Madesclaire and his boys, though.

My prediction for this one – call me crazy – is a clean 2-0 for the Vitality dynasty.

So, there you have it. A quick look at the opening matchups for the group stages of BLAST Rotterdam 2026. Whilst you’re waiting for the matches to start, remember to keep up the grind! Get in some solo-queue games, practice with your mates, and become the best version of yourself as a CS2 player possible.