BLAST Rotterdam Kicks Off
BLAST Open Rotterdam 2026 kicks off today with 16 teams in an S‑Tier field — it’s the final big stop before the Valve Regional Standings (VRS) cutoff and matches began March 18. Favorites Team Vitality and NAVI are penciled in to chase crucial VRS points here that will directly affect IEM Cologne qualification. (dotesports.com) (thunderpick.io) (egamersworld.com)
The group stage runs March 18–23 at BLAST’s Copenhagen studio, with the top six teams advancing to playoffs in Rotterdam on March 27–29 at the 15,000‑seat Ahoy Arena. (hltv.org) The event carries a $1.1 million prize pool; the player-share winner gets $150,000 while the organization receives a $100,000 club share. (blast.tv) The 16-team field lists FURIA, Falcons, Vitality, Aurora, MOUZ, NAVI, The MongolZ, B8, Spirit, Liquid, FaZe, PARIVISION, Ninjas in Pyjamas, 9z, NRG and TYLOO. (blast.tv) Twelve teams accepted direct invites based on the VRS and four final berths were claimed through BLAST Rising qualifiers held in Europe, North America, South America and Asia. (dotesports.com) Liquid entered Rotterdam with new signing Mario “malbsMd” Samayoa after a swap with G2, Falcons are using Matej “Nucleonz” Trajkoski as a stand‑in for kyousuke, and FaZe named Dominik “GruBy” Świderski interim head coach. (dotesports.com) Valve’s March VRS update kept Team Vitality at the top of the standings, and the final VRS invite cutoff for IEM Cologne is set for April 6, making Rotterdam one of the last opportunities to gain or defend Major invite positioning. (esportsinsider.com) Falcons opened the tournament with a 2–0 victory over NRG in the first scheduled match on March 18. (blast.tv)
