BLAST Rivals: eight teams set for a $1m Hong Kong LAN

Eight Counter-Strike 2 (CS2) teams will play for a $1 million prize pool at BLAST Rivals in Hong Kong from November 11 to November 15, 2026. BLAST published the field on October 16, 2026: Team Spirit, Team Vitality, MOUZ, FURIA and Team Falcons, then Legacy, G2 Esports and FUT Esports.

Aurora are sixth, and still off the list

HLTV reported on October 16, 2026 that every side in its current top five is in. On the October 12, 2026 ranking that order is Spirit on 972 points, Vitality on 894, MOUZ on 692, FURIA on 527 and Falcons on 488. Legacy are seventh on 379, G2 eighth on 338 and FUT ninth on 319.

Aurora, on 461 points, are the missing sixth. Natus Vincere (NAVI) are tenth on 216 and are out as well.

Skipping sixth while taking ninth is not a clean top-eight cut. Aurora's points sit next to Falcons, not down with FUT, and the October 16 note gives no reason for the gap. The room is still tier one. It is not the ranking copied out in order.

Clubs take $650,000 of the $1 million

HLTV's event page, read with that October 16, 2026 report, splits the purse into a $350,000 player share and a $650,000 club share. The winning roster's player purse is $125,000, plus another $125,000 in club share. Seventh and eighth take $10,000 each on the player side and $50,000 in club share. Most of this money is assigned to organisations, not to the five players on the server.

That page sets two double-elimination groups, every series a best of three (Bo3), then a single-elimination Bo3 playoff and a best of five (Bo5) final. BLAST says six of the eight teams reach the arena days, so two are finished before the crowd sees a playoff map. HLTV lists, on the same page, Ancient, Anubis, Cache, Dust2, Inferno, Mirage and Nuke as the map pool, and a Valve Regional Standings (VRS) snapshot dated October 5, 2026.

"We're very excited to welcome eight incredible teams back to Hong Kong this November. With our defending champions returning, a US$1 million prize pool and another outstanding line-up, we're excited to build on last year's success and deliver another unforgettable event for fans," said Andrew Haworth, senior vice president of ecosystems at BLAST. (BLAST, October 16, 2026)

None of those sums is a bookmaker's price. They are prize money. A separate CoinGenius report looks at how player scandals affect trust in betting. Esports betting, where an operator offers it, is an adult product: 18 in the UK and 21 in several US states.

• 2025: FURIA beat Falcons 3-1 in the inaugural Hong Kong final, in a sold-out AsiaWorld-Arena.
• October 12, 2026: HLTV's ranking places the eight, and leaves Aurora sixth.
• October 16, 2026: BLAST names Spirit, Vitality, MOUZ, FURIA, Falcons, Legacy, G2 and FUT.
• November 11, 2026: the event starts in Chek Lap Kok.
• November 13, 2026: arena playoffs begin, and they run through November 15.

FURIA defend Hong Kong with Legacy beside them

FURIA are the defending champions, and Falcons are the side they beat. Both are back, which is the rematch BLAST is happy to put on the poster. Legacy put a second Brazilian organisation in an eight-team LAN. A final between the 2025 pair happens only if both survive groups that also hold Spirit, Vitality or MOUZ. The poster is not a forecast.

Last year's edition, on BLAST's figures, drew more than 30,000 fans across three arena days, over HK$600 million in economic impact, 262 million live views and 36 million hours watched. This roster list draws players from 20 nations. BLAST and the Esports Association of Hong Kong, China are co-organisers, and the playoff matches are at AsiaWorld-Arena.

The other CS2 file from this week is discipline, not a calendar. On October 15, 2026 CoinGenius reported the lifetime ban on Oliver "kzy" Heck over four maps in Portugal. That case does not decide who walks into Chek Lap Kok.

Arena playoffs open on November 13, 2026 and run through November 15 at AsiaWorld-Arena, with six teams left and the final a Bo5. BLAST had not published the groups, or the opening matches, with the October 16 list.

This article is informational analysis only and is not betting advice.

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