Esports tournament organiser BLAST has revealed the 12 Counter-Strike teams that have accepted invitations for the upcoming BLAST Open Rotterdam event.
Taking place from March 27th to 29th at Rotterdam’s Ahoy Arena, the 12 teams join four that earned a place through regional qualifiers.
Unveiled on February 9th, all of the top 12 teams from January’s Valve Regional Standings (VRS) have accepted an invitation to compete at the Tier 1 tournament. As a result, BLAST Open London champions G2 Esports narrowly missed out on an invitation due to placing 13th in the global standings.
IEM Krakow winner Team Vitality has another opportunity to add an eleventh trophy to its ever-expanding collection, while runner-up, FURIA, looks to avenge its loss with another deep run.
The full list of teams competing at BLAST Open Rotterdam 2026 is as follows:
- FURIA
- Team Falcons
- Team Vitality
- Aurora Gaming
- MOUZ
- NAVI
- The MongolZ
- B8
- Team Spirit
- Team Liquid
- FaZe Clan
- Parivision
- Ninjas in Pyjamas
- 9z
- NRG
- TYLOO
For the majority of teams attending the event, BLAST Open Rotterdam takes place three days after the ESL Pro League Season 23 Finals, taking place from March 13th to 15th at Stockholm’s Annexet.
BLAST Open Rotterdam 2026 Format
The 16-team event gets underway with the Group Stage taking place from March 18th to 23rd at BLAST’s Copenhagen studios. Teams are split into two groups of eight, with the top three teams from each advancing to the playoffs.
Winners of the Group Stage begin the playoffs in the semi-finals, while the runners-up start the single-elimination bracket in the quarter-finals as the high seed. The low seed also secures a place in the quarter-finals as the low seed.
Throughout the Group Stage, quarter-finals, and semi-finals, teams will compete in best-of-threes until the Grand Final, where a best-of-five will determine the eventual champion.
