BLAST Premier Open heads to the Netherlands in 2026

BLAST has announced that the BLAST Premier Open in March 2026 will be taking place at the Ahoy Arena in Rotterdam, Netherlands.

The tournament will see 16 of the best Counter-Strike 2 (CS2) teams in the world fight for a share of its $400,000 prize pool (~£297,789), with the top six competing on stage from March 27th to March 29th.

The announcement comes before the start of the BLAST Open London 2025 playoffs, which will take place at the OVO Arena Wembley and features a combined $330,000 (~£245.676) prize pool.

As expected with most CS2 competitions, 12 teams will get direct invitations based on the global Valve rankings, with the other four teams fighting for qualification through open qualifiers.

The teams will first compete from BLAST’s Copenhagen studios to determine the six squads playing at the Ahoy Arena. The arena was previously used back in 2019 for the League of Legends European Championship (LEC) Spring Finals.

For next year’s event, BLAST has confirmed it will team up with Friendly Fire, a subsidiary of the international event organiser, FKP Scorpio. Tickets can be purchased on Friday, October 24th, starting at 10 AM BST. Presale tickets will be available one day earlier, on October 23th.

Throughout 2025, BLAST has cemented its place as one of the world’s largest esports tournament organisers by expanding into several new markets. According to a release, this year’s BLAST Open generated over 89m views worldwide, reaching a global audience of millions. Before Rotterdam and London, the company hosted events in cities across the globe, including Hong Kong, Singapore, Rio, Munich, Austin, and Boston.

Andrew Haworth, SVP of Ecosystems at BLAST, commented on the announcement: “We’re incredibly excited to bring the BLAST Premier Open to Rotterdam, taking BLAST to a brand-new country.

“The Netherlands has a passionate esports fanbase, and the Ahoy Arena is the perfect stage to host the next chapter of BLAST. Fans can expect world-class Counter-Strike, unforgettable moments, and the signature BLAST production quality they have come to know.”