BLAST Rivals Fort Worth playoffs locked in as Vitality and NAVI take direct semi-final spots

BLAST Rivals Fort Worth playoffs locked in as Vitality and NAVI take direct semi-final spots

The playoff bracket for BLAST Rivals 2026 Season 1 in Fort Worth has been finalized, with six teams moving on to the arena stage at Dickies Arena. Vitality and Natus Vincere secured the most valuable positions in the bracket after winning their group seeding matches, earning direct places in the semi-finals. The remaining four playoff teams — G2, FaZe, GamerLegion, and Astralis — were left to fight through the quarter-finals. 

The event began with eight invited teams, all selected through the VRS ranking. The lineup featured Vitality, Natus Vincere, FURIA, FUT, Astralis, G2, FaZe, and GamerLegion. The format placed the teams into two double-elimination groups, with the top three sides from each group advancing. Group winners received a direct route to the semi-finals, while second and third-place teams entered the quarter-finals. 

One of the biggest stories of the group stage was FURIA’s early exit. The Brazilian side arrived as one of the higher-ranked teams in the field, but failed to survive Group B. Their final blow came against FaZe, who defeated them 2-1 in the lower bracket with dominant wins on Dust2 and Nuke. FaZe took Dust2 13-4, lost Mirage 7-13, and then closed the series with a crushing 13-3 scoreline on Nuke. 

FaZe’s qualification also gave the playoffs one of the most intriguing quarter-final matchups. Russel “Twistzz” Van Dulken’s team was scheduled to face G2 in the opening round, marking FaZe’s first arena appearance since the StarLadder Budapest Major playoffs. G2, meanwhile, entered the match looking increasingly dangerous after adding Guy “NertZ” Iluz. Their previous meeting came online at ESL Pro League Season 23, where G2 beat FaZe in two maps. 

The other quarter-final paired GamerLegion with Astralis. GamerLegion reached the playoffs after beating FURIA in their opener, although they later struggled against NAVI in the seeding match. HLTV noted that GamerLegion would be looking for revenge against Astralis after a heavy defeat in their previous meeting at IEM Krakow.

The confirmed playoff schedule started with G2 vs FaZe on May 1, followed by GamerLegion vs Astralis on May 2. NAVI awaited the winner of G2 vs FaZe in the first semi-final, while Vitality were set to face the winner of GamerLegion vs Astralis in the second. The grand final was scheduled for May 3. 

BLAST Rivals 2026 Season 1 was held in Fort Worth, Texas from April 29 to May 3, with a total prize pool of $1,000,000. According to HLTV’s event page, the tournament included $350,000 in player prize money and $650,000 in club share. The playoffs used a single-elimination format, with best-of-three matches before a best-of-five grand final. 

The bracket eventually produced a NAVI vs Vitality final. Vitality completed the run by defeating Natus Vincere 3-0 in the grand final, winning their fifth consecutive title. NAVI pushed them hard, including an 11-0 lead on Nuke, but Vitality recovered to win the map in overtime and later closed the series without dropping a map.