BLAST Premier commits $10 million to its 2027 CS2 circuit

The BLAST Premier 2027 format shifts more Counter-Strike 2 matches to LAN and commits $10 million directly to teams and the ecosystem. Bounty shrinks from 32 to 16 teams, Open begins on LAN and regional open qualifiers expand across the season.

BLAST says the investment rises from $8.5 million in 2026. Six events are scheduled from January through November 2027, including an October stop in Rio de Janeiro.

BLAST Premier 2027 format changes how teams are paid

The $10 million plan contains $3 million in player prize money, $4.5 million in team payments and $1.8 million in acceptance fees. Another $700,000 is allocated to team experience, including travel and accommodation improvements.

Acceptance fees are paid to organizations when they take an invitation and depend on their Valve Regional Standings position at that time. Unlike prize money and team payments, those fees do not contribute to VRS.

Every event will carry a $1.25 million prize pool and team payment total. BLAST also plans 50 additional broadcast hours over the year.

Bounty loses its online opening week

Bounty’s field falls to 16 teams and the complete event moves to LAN, removing the lower VRS weighting associated with online matches. Regional qualifiers in Europe, Asia, North America and South America add routes alongside ranking invitations.

Open remains a two-week LAN tournament with 12 global ranking invites and four regional qualifiers. Rivals keeps eight teams and 13 matches across five days.

Our BLAST Bounty Season 2 final report shows the current 32-team era. The format tradeoffs guide explains what changes when a circuit reduces its field.

BLAST has not announced every 2027 host location. Those venue details and the deeper Bounty drafting rules remain the next updates to watch.

Source: BLAST, February 28, 2026.