In 2025, Blast decided to update its CS2 competition system by offering three new tournament types: Bounty, Open, and Rivals. Considering that the tournament operator will also host the first BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025, its main competitors from ESL and PGL have something to worry about. But esports fans don’t have to worry about whether 1xBet is safe. This international betting brand is trusted by millions of betting fans worldwide and today it offers you a preview of the Blast Open Lisbon 2025 tournament.
The organizers describe the Blast Open system as the best chance for young and daring teams to compete against the leading Counter-Strike 2 teams. And they will do it offline – the group stage will be held at BLAST Studios in Copenhagen, Denmark, and the playoffs will be held in large arenas.
In 2025, two tournaments of the new series will be held – Blast Open Season 1 (Open Spring / Open Lisbon 2025) from March 19 to 30 and Blast Open Season 2 (Open Fall / Open London 2025) from August 27 to September 7. The finals of the first tournament will be held at the MEO Arena in Lisbon, and the second at the legendary OVO Arena Wembley in London.
Qualification for Blast Open Lisbon 2025
The tournament will feature 16 teams, 12 of which were invited based on the February version of Valve’s global rankings. The list includes Team Spirit, G2 Esports, The MongolZ, Team Vitality, FaZe Clan, Natus Vincere, Eternal Fire, MOUZ, Team Falcons, Team Liquid, FURIA, and Virtus.pro.
Four more underdog teams have qualified for Blast Open Lisbon 2025 by winning the BLAST Rising regional qualifiers:
- Astralis (Europe)
- M80 (North America)
- Imperial Esports (South America)
- The Huns Esports (Asia).
The competition in the qualification was serious – following the results of the qualifying matches, such strong teams as HEROIC, GamerLegion, MIBR, and paiN Gaming did not make it to the tournament. In the Asian region, a real drama unfolded, as the qualification winners, ATOX Esports, were suspended from the tournament during the investigation of the Esports Integrity Commission regarding match fixing. And now The Huns Esports will take part in the tournament from Asia. And here it is very important to remember that the betting company 1xBet advocates responsible gaming and equal chances for all players, so any accusations of 1xBet scam do not stand up to criticism.
Blast Open Lisbon 2025 format and favorites
The tournament’s group stage will be held from March 19 to 24 in the Bo3 format using the two double-elimination format. The three best teams from each of the two groups will advance to the playoff stage, the leaders will advance to the semi-finals, and the second and third places will advance to the quarter-finals.
The final matches in Lisbon will be held on the last weekend of March using the single-elimination bracket in the Bo3 format, and only in the grand final can viewers expect five maps. The winner will receive $150,000, three Frequent Flyer Programme tokens, and a share of the Participation Fees team prize pool.
The group participants and the first pairs of opponents are already known, so it is possible to preliminarily assess the teams’ chances of reaching the next stage and winning the tournament.
Group A:
- Team Spirit vs Huns
- Team Falcons vs MOUZ
- FaZe Clan vs Virtus.pro
- Astralis vs Team Vitality
Group B:
- G2 Esports vs Imperial Esports
- Team Liquid vs Eternal Fire
- Natus Vincere vs FURIA
- M80 vs The MongolZ
Team Spirit, Team Vitality and MOUZ are almost guaranteed to advance to the playoffs from Group A – the rest of the teams will have to rely on a miracle. However, the situation is more interesting in Group B, as there is only one clear favorite: NAVI. All other participants have almost equal chances of reaching the playoffs, and watching their matches will be extremely exciting.
In our opinion, the top 5 favorites of the tournament are Team Spirit, Team Vitality, MOUZ, NAVI, and The MongolZ, who are partners of the international brand 1xBet. A partnership of this level definitely removes the question: is 1xBet a legit website?
Enjoy the key CS2 tournaments and watch the matches of your favorite teams with 1xBet!
