Stage 1 of BLAST Bounty 2026 S2 came to an end with DENDELE beating FURIA with a 2-1 scoreline (Anubis 13-6, Mirage 6-13, Cache 16-14) to continue the trend of upsets in the online event.
The end of Stage 1 means 16 teams remain in the running, with matchups being decided by Bounty's usual draft format later on Friday.
DENDELE, who were making their debut under their new name due to a recent organization partnership, began the series well on their Anubis pick. Máximo "maxxkor" Cortina was fantastic on the defense and helped his team secure seven rounds on the less-favored side, and the Brazilians took that momentum to a confident 13-6 victory.
FURIA answered with a straightforward win on Mirage, but Cache once again went the way of DENDELE after overtime. Kaike "KSCERATO" Cerato and company were far from comfortable throughout on the map pool's newest addition, with Gabriel "FalleN" Toledo (1.20) and KSCERATO (1.05) being the only individuals on their team with a positive rating.
Earlier in the day, 3DMAX beat magic in a hard-fought series, with recent addition Jeremy "Kursy" Gast topping the server with a 1.42 rating, before the revamped The MongolZ roster bested HEROIC in an equally tight affair.
Usukhbayar "910" Banzragch was the star of the team across the series, but it was new recruit Dugarsuren "DarkMeister" Ireedui who turned the tide in the double-overtime Dust2 decider with 36 kills and a 1.39 rating to keep The MongolZ alive at the tournament.
Friday also saw one of the title favorites dumped out, as Liquid ended Vitality's 24-event playoff streak after getting the better of Dan "apEX" Madesclaire and company with a 2-0 scoreline.
HEROIC
Ludvig 'Brollan' Brolin
Linus 'nilo' Bergman
Tim 'susp' Ångström
Antonio 'MartinezSa' Martinez
Christoffer 'Chr1zN' Storgaard
Joonas 'doto' Forss
Jeremy 'Kursy' Gast
DENDELE
Victor 'gafolo' Andrade
João 'koala' Pfeffer
Máximo 'maxxkor' Cortina
Daniel 'rdnzao' Monteiro
Danilo 'doc' Barros
Hélder 'coachi' Sancho
Máximo 'maxxkor' Cortina
Gabriel 'FalleN' Toledo
magic
Svyatoslav 'MaSvAl' Masko
Vitaliy 'sFade8' Marushka
Andrey 'AW' Anisimov
Abdurakhim 'mo0N' Issa
Nikita 'tenzy' Kochenyuk
Danila 'eksiver' Yurkov
Vitality
Dan 'apEX' Madesclaire
Robin 'ropz' Kool
Mathieu 'ZywOo' Herbaut
Shahar 'flameZ' Shushan
William 'mezii' Merriman
Rémy 'XTQZZZ' Quoniam
3DMAX
Bryan 'Maka' Canda
Lucas 'Lucky' Chastang
Kévin 'misutaaa' Rabier
Jeremy 'Kursy' Gast
Filip 'Graviti' Brankovic
Damien 'wasiNk' Dufour
Kaike 'KSCERATO' Cerato
The MongolZ
Garidmagnai 'bLitz' Byambasuren
Sodbayar 'Techno' Munkhbold
Usukhbayar '910' Banzragch
Zolbayar 'tikuak' Chimedtseren
Dugarsuren 'DarkMeister' Ireedui
Erdenedalai 'maaRaa' Bayanbat
Liquid
Keith 'NAF' Markovic
Jonathan 'EliGE' Jablonowski
Mario 'malbsMd' Samayoa
Johnny 'JT' Theodosiou
Georgi 'Jorko' Mitev
Viktor 'flashie' Tamás Bea
Usukhbayar '910' Banzragch
FURIA
Gabriel 'FalleN' Toledo
Yuri 'yuurih' Santos
Mareks 'YEKINDAR' Gaļinskis
Kaike 'KSCERATO' Cerato
Danil 'molodoy' Golubenko
Sid 'sidde' Macedo
Dan 'apEX' Madesclaire
Dugarsuren 'DarkMeister' Ireedui