New Valorant tournament Project Blender is hoping to attract amateur players by placing cash bounties on their role models.
Project Blender is a new third-party Valorant event hosted by French streaming organizer Gozulting. Announced on July 31, 2025, the tournament hopes to disrupt the existing Valorant competitive system by allowing open competition and a twist on the draft. Project Blender will also feature an innovative bounty system where lower-ranked teams can earn extra cash for upsets. The tournament will be open to players of all skill levels across Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa. The first round is planned to start in September and will feature €75,000 in prizes.
Project Blender’s first twist will be a “fearless draft” for each match. Teams cannot pick the same agent twice, though they can pick agents that their opponents have selected. With 27 agents in the roster, teams will have to use more than half of the available pool if a series goes to three games. The second twist is its open competition format. Any team can register to play regardless of skill or competitive experience. The event will feature four phases that will whittle down the 1,024 maximum teams down to just 64, then 32, and end with an eight-team LAN playoff.
Image Credit: Project Blender
While open registration and a unique draft system should be enough to attract players, Project Blender is also introducing a bounty system to help motivate underdogs.
How does the Project Blender bounty system work?
Project Blender will place bounties on top-ranked teams. If a lower-ranked team beats them, they also win the bounty.
Teams will be labelled as either Amateur, Tier 2, or Tier 1 depending on their competitive history. If a team labeled as Amateur defeats a Tier 2 or Tier 1 in the second or third phase, they will earn an unspecified cash prize. Note that the bounty system does not apply in the first or fourth phase of Project Blender.
Image Credit: Project Blender
Project Blender’s open registration and cash bounties seem inspired by the fighting game community. Many tournaments, such as EVO, allow anyone to enter, from casual enjoyers to legendary icons. Placing bounties on well-known players is also a tradition for some events. The goal is to stir up hype and attract players with the idea of winning money even if they don’t earn a spot on the podium. With Project Blender starting in September, fans won’t have to wait long to see the experiment in action.