The BLAST Rivals 2026 Season 1 playoff bracket is locked in, with six of the original eight invited teams advancing to the Dickies Arena stage in Fort Worth. Vitality and NAVI earned direct semi-final spots after winning their respective group seeding matches; G2, FaZe, GamerLegion and Astralis drop into the quarter-finals.
How the groups shook out
The eight invited teams — Vitality, NAVI, FURIA, FUT, Astralis, G2, FaZe, GamerLegion — were drawn through VRS and split into two double-elimination groups. FURIA’s exit was the upset of the group stage; the Brazilian side fell to FaZe 2-1 in the lower-bracket final after dropping their opener to GamerLegion 2-1. FUT exited last after losing to Astralis 0-2 with lauNX absent for health reasons.
The quarter-final matchups everyone wants
FaZe vs G2 in the opening QF was the headline draw. FaZe’s first arena match since the StarLadder Budapest Major playoffs, with Twistzz IGL’ing in his second event in the role. G2 came in carrying NertZ momentum and the recent ESL Pro League S23 win over the same FaZe lineup. The other QF paired GamerLegion with Astralis — a revenge fixture after a heavy GL loss to Astralis at IEM Krakow.
The format and the prize money
The playoffs ran single-elimination Bo3 into a Bo5 grand final. Total prize pool $1,000,000 — $350,000 in player money, $650,000 in club share. The bracket eventually produced a NAVI vs Vitality grand final, which Vitality closed 3-0 to lift their fifth consecutive title.
