Seeding & prize money: Big changes coming to BLAST Bounty Season 2

Way back in January, the 2025 Counter-Strike 2 calendar began with BLAST Bounty.

Won by Team Spirit, BLAST Bounty Season 1 debuted an exciting and innovative format within the CS2 landscape, where underdog teams were actively hunting their higher-ranked opposition in order to secure as much prize money as possible.

Season 2 of BLAST Bounty is set to begin on August 5th, with the Playoffs taking place in Malta between August 14th-17th. Exciting changes are coming to Bounty for Season 2, so read on to see how the competition will go to a whole new level in just four short weeks.

Changes coming to BLAST Bounty Season 2

Seeding

Teams will now keep their initial seeding from the beginning of the event.

This is because lower-ranked teams would push down higher-ranked opponents after securing an underdog victory, meaning that the higher-ranked opposition displaced would often pick a favourable matchup against an underdog.

Photo: Stephanie Lindgren

Wagering

In BLAST Bounty Season 2, teams will be able to wager against each other for the chance to earn extra cash towards their prize money for the event.

The two teams don't have to wager even amounts, allowing the underdog teams to taunt the bigger teams into putting more money on the line for when they face each other.

The lower seed will therefore be allowed to suggest the wagered amount first, and a small discussion will follow.

Photo: Stephanie Lindgren

Wagered amount goes directly to the bank

When two teams wager against each other, the amount won will now be deposited directly into the bank of the winning team rather than being added to their bounty.

This was changed because the previous wording of the rule meant that the wager won would be added to a team's bounty and then halved. The previous ruling incentivised teams not to wager for larger amounts, as it just increased their bounty number.

Example:

Teams earn money for each win

From now on, teams will earn $2,500 from their bounty for every match win. Teams that have under $2,500 will gain all of their bounty.

This will allow teams to earn money early on for wagers, providing even greater incentive for teams to fight with everything they have for the biggest matches in the tournament.

Photo: Stephanie Lindgren

Change list

• Seeding - Seeding will now remain as initially set at the beginning of the event. It won't change if an underdog team gets an upset victory.
• Wagering - Teams will be able to wager against each other from their banked prize money for the event. These wagers don't have to be equal, and the lower seeded team will suggest the wagered amount first.
• Wagered amount goes straight to the bank - The amount of money won from wagering during a match will be added straight to a team's banked prize money.
• Teams earn money for each win - Teams will earn money (up to $2500) from their bounty whenever they win a game. A team with less than $2500 bounty will earn their total bounty if they are to win a game.