As another S-Tier Counter-Strike 2 (CS2) esports event, BLAST Open Season 1 Lisbon is coming in hot, promising non-stop action throughout a Group Stage and a Playoffs Stage, with the latter held in front of a huge crowd at the MEO Arena in Lisbon, Portugal.
Sounds exciting, right? Well, you don’t have to miss a second of the CS2 esports action with our dedicated viewer’s guide. Take a seat and let’s discuss everything you must know about the BLAST Open Season 1 Lisbon event, from the teams to format, prize pool, stages, and how to watch all the matches live.
Teams Competing At BLAST Open S1 Lisbon
There are 16 teams competing at the BLAST Open Season 1 Lisbon event, with 12 of these teams getting invited due to their standing in the Valve Global Ranking leaderboard, and four from regional “BLAST Rising” qualifiers, namely Asia, Europe, South America and North America.
This system allows underdogs to compete with the best teams in the world, opening pathways to possible success. Check out the list of teams below, with the first 12 being direct invites, and the other four being qualified squads.
- G2 Esports
- Team Spirit
- FaZe Clan
- Team Vitality
- The MongolZ
- NAVI
- Eternal Fire
- MOUZ
- Team Falcons
- Virtus.pro
- Team Liquid
- FURIA
- Astralis (BLAST Rising EU)
- ATOX Esports (BLAST Rising Asia)
- M80 (BLAST Rising NA)
- Imperial Esports (BLAST Rising SA)
While there are some clear favorites, as expected, I won’t be surprised if some lower ranked teams make it deep in this event, with Team Liquid springing to mind instantly. Maybe that’s just a feeling, so let’s see!
BLAST Open S1 Lisbon Schedule & Format
The BLAST Open Season 1 Lisbon event will take place from 19 to 30 March 2025. The 16 CS2 esports teams will begin their journey at the BLAST Studio venue in Copenhagen, Denmark, competing in the Group Stage from 19 to 24 March.
The Group Stage features a double-elimination GSL-style format with two groups of eight teams each. All matches are BO3, with the top three teams from each group advancing to the Playoffs Stage.
The winners of each group go directly to the Semifinals, while the 2nd-place teams advance to the Quarterfinals as the High Seeds, and then 3rd-place teams earn the Low Seed spots in the Quarterfinals.
From 28 to 30 March 2025, the final six teams will compete in the Playoffs Stage in front of a huge crowd at the MEO Arena in Lisbon, Portugal. The Playoffs Stage features a no-nonsense single-elimination bracket format, where the Quarterfinals and Semifinals matches are BO3, and the Grand Final is BO5.
Prize Pool Distribution
There’s a $400,000 prize pool at each BLAST Open event, with the following distribution:
- 1st: $150,000
- 2nd: $60,000
- 3rd/4th: $40,000
- 5th/6th: $20,000
- 7th/8th: $10,000
- 9th – 12th: $7,500
- 13th – 16th: $5,000
To sweeten the pot further, there’s also a participation fee.
To be clear, all teams participating at a BLAST Open event will get a share of $700,000. Each team participating will receive a “participation fee,” based on ranking position at the event:
- 1st – 12th place gets $45,000 each.
- Others: $10,000 each for 1st – 4th ranked teams in EU, NA, SA & Asia Rising ($40,000 per region).
Frequent Flyer Tokens
There’s another mechanic at play here, and that’s the frequent flyers program. It’s basically a “minimum guarantee with a revenue kicker”, as described by BLAST. The more events teams compete in, the bigger portion they can earn. If they decline events, however, they can be removed from the program.
Check out an official explainer via BLAST’s website.
By participating in BLAST Open, a team will be one step closer to gaining a Frequent Flyers Programme token. Once a team has played four tournaments (excluding Rising) an organisation will earn tokens as outlined below:
- If you play 4 tournaments = 1 token
- If you play 5 tournaments = 2 token
- If you play 6 tournaments = 4 token
If a team reaches week 2 of BLAST Open, they will receive one additional token. By winning BLAST Open, a team will receive two additional tokens.
How To Watch BLAST Open S1 Lisbon Live
If you can’t make it to Lisbon or have not secured tickets to the Playoffs at the MEO Arena, we won’t blame you. Instead, we are here to help! You can watch the BLAST Open Season 1 Lisbon event, both the Group Stage and the Playoffs Stage CS2 esports action, from the comfort of your own home.
To watch the action unfold live, you can tune in to the official BLAST Premier Twitch channel, or the BLAST Premier YouTube channel.
For huge CS2 events like this one, I recommend getting together with some likeminded friends or esports fans in a viewing party for the Playoffs—it just takes the whole experience to the next level.
Please note: We’ve checked and confirmed all information via the official BLAST Open 2025 Season 1 page.
