Esports tournament organiser BLAST has announced its plans for the 2027 Counter-Strike 2 season, revealing a massive calendar of events, more financial rewards for teams and players and some format changes that should improve the action for fans.
The BLAST Premier circuit is one of the largest Counter Strike series, and features multiple top tier events each year. However, with multiple tournament organisers fighting for the top teams to show up to their event and a packed calendar, tournaments are having to announce events far in advance and try to shake things up from the norm to remain at the top.
BLAST is doing just that in 2027, confirming six top events around the world that kick off in January and come to a close in November. The first event will take place somewhere in the Schengen area, while the only other event with a confirmed location is the penultimate competition in October that will take place in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. All other event locations will be revealed in the coming months.
These events come with a $10 million commitment to teams and the wider ecosystem, with each event having a $1.25 million prize pool. The rest of the money will go to acceptance fees, giving organisations a payout for agreeing to attend a BLAST event, and increased funding for player experience when it comes to accommodation and travel.
The company also announced some format changes to their events, which will see more matches played on LAN throughout the year rather than online. Now all events in the Bounty series will be played on LAN, and the events have been streamlined from 32 to 16 teams, making them more likely to feature the very top tier of teams facing off. There will also be more regional qualification opportunities for teams around the world, and an entire extra week of action is being added to the calendar compared to 2026.
“We are evolving BLAST Premier to better serve the entire Counter-Strike ecosystem,” said Anne Banschbach, Programme Director for BLAST Premier. “Increasing our investment to $10 million is not just about bigger prize pools, it is about revamping our formats to deliver a more sustainable and premium experience for teams, players and fans. With a fully LAN-focused structure, stronger VRS impact and the removal of main event online matches, the biggest moments will play out on the biggest stages. This is about raising the standard across every level of the ecosystem.”
All of these changes will no doubt be beneficial for the Counter Strike scene as a whole, but with so many tournament organisers trying to entice the top teams to their events over the next few years BLAST will have to continue to prove they can put on top tier events if they want to remain at the top of the esports world.
