Sixteen Counter-Strike Teams Are in a Copenhagen Studio This Week and Six of Them Fly to Porto
BLAST Open Fall's group stage is running now, with two GSL groups of eight and three qualifiers from each. Inner Circle beat Vitality 2-0 and M80 took NAVI to three maps on the opening day.
BLAST Open Fall's group stage is running at BLAST Studios in Copenhagen this week, and six of the sixteen teams will go on to Porto. The playoffs are on 4 to 6 September in Portugal, with the grand final on the sixth.
The format
Two GSL groups of eight, double elimination, best-of-three throughout, three teams advancing from each group. Playoff quarter-finals and semi-finals are best-of-three and the final is best-of-five.
Opening results
| Match | Result |
|---|---|
| G2 Esports v Aurora | 2-0 (13-5 Inferno, 16-12 Anubis) |
| Team Spirit v DENDELE | 2-0 (13-8 Ancient, 13-7 Cache) |
| M80 v Natus Vincere | 2-1 |
| FURIA v paiN Gaming | 2-0 (13-2 Mirage, 13-6 Cache) |
| Inner Circle v Vitality | 2-0 (13-8 Anubis, 16-13 Cache) |
Two of those are worth a second look. M80 taking Natus Vincere to three maps and Inner Circle beating Team Vitality without dropping one are not results the seeding expected.
The field
Team Falcons, Team Spirit, Team Vitality, FURIA, Natus Vincere, MOUZ, Aurora Gaming, G2 Esports, FUT Esports, 9z Team, Legacy, paiN Gaming, M80, Inner Circle, Lynn Vision Gaming and DENDELE. Teams qualified through VRS Global standings and the BLAST Rising regional qualifiers in Europe, North America, South America and Asia.
Team Spirit arrive having just won the Counter-Strike 2 title at the Esports World Cup in Paris. This is a separate event from the PGL Major in Singapore in November and December.
Following it on Playdash
Playdash prices Counter-Strike 2 with series winner, map winner, map handicap, correct series score, total rounds, pistol round and first-to-ten markets, plus event outrights. European studio events start in the Southeast Asian evening and run past midnight local time.
Format, results, field and schedule as published by esports.gg, freetips.com and Liquipedia. Reported prize pool figures for the event ranged from $400,000 to $1,100,000 and reported group-stage end dates from 31 August to 3 September; because those sources disagree, neither figure is stated here. Correct at the time of writing on 28 August 2026.