Draft Picks, Malta Stakes: BLAST Bounty Season 2 Stage 2 Bracket Locked
The BLAST Bounty Season 2 Stage 2 bracket is set after eight low seeds selected their opponents in a live draft on July 24, with all match winners earning a spot at the LAN finals in Malta – a $1,150,000 event running through August 2.
The draft format hands agency to the lower seeds, and the picks reflect calculated map-pool reads as much as form assessments. Ninjas in Pyjamas opened the draft by selecting paiN, while 3DMAX’s Damien ‘wasiNk’ Dufour flagged prior head-to-head history as the reasoning behind targeting FUT – a team they have beaten twice. HOTU’s David ‘n0rb3r7’ Danielyan admitted Astralis was not their first choice, noting The MongolZ would have been the pick had they still been available, and described Astralis as not in good shape. FOKUS went for MOUZ, with Erik ‘ztr’ Gustafsson noting he has now ticked off ash and GamerLegion – both former teammates – via elimination, leaving only Oldřich ‘PR’ Nový on his list.
Full Stage 2 Schedule
July 25
- DENDELE vs FaZe – 12:00
- Liquid vs G2 – 14:30
- HOTU vs Astralis – 17:00
- FOKUS vs MOUZ – 19:30
July 26
- Ninjas in Pyjamas vs paiN – 12:00
- 3DMAX vs FUT – 14:30
- Wildcard vs The MongolZ – 17:00
- 100 Thieves vs Spirit – 19:30
Liquid, 100T, and the High-Stakes Draws
– Viktor ‘flashie’ Tamás Bea said the team anticipated MOUZ or Spirit being available, making G2 the live adjustment – Viktor ‘flashie’ Tamás Bea said the team had anticipated MOUZ or Spirit being available, making G2 the live adjustment. That confidence is worth tracking given Liquid’s roster situation heading into this event. Meanwhile, 100 Thieves drew Spirit as the final pick – the last available opponent – with Graham ‘messioso’ Pitt confirming on the broadcast that the matchup was precisely what the team expected.
The Stage 2 slate follows a chaotic Stage 1 that already knocked out Falcons, Vitality, FURIA, and Aurora. 100 Thieves’ elimination of Falcons was one of the headline upsets, and the full Day 1 results set the table for the draft field that emerged. Eight teams now stand between the current bracket and a LAN finals ticket.
