BLAST Bounty 2026 Season 2 continues Stage 1 with a match between 3DMAX and magic. In the first round, the teams will play a Bo3 series, where the winner will continue the fight for a place at the LAN Finals, while the loser will immediately end their run at the tournament. The French roster independently chose magic as their opponent, but current form and head-to-head results make this choice risky.
BLAST BOUNTY 2026 SEASON 2 STAGE 1 — FORMAT SPECIFICS
Stage 1 is played in a Single Elimination format. All matches are played as Bo3, so there is no room for error: one unsuccessful series will mean elimination, while the winner will move on to the next round of online qualification for the LAN Finals.
3DMAX, with the 17th seed, chose magic, who received the 12th seed. Despite being the team that selected the opponent, the French side enter the series as underdogs according to bookmaker odds. magic also hold a higher position in the world ranking — 20th place compared to 34th for 3DMAX.
HEAD-TO-HEAD — ADVANTAGE FOR MAGIC
The teams met in May 2026 at Stake Ranked Episode 2. Back then, magic won both maps played: Inferno ended 19:15 after overtime, while Ancient finished 13:9.
The previous series was not one-sided, especially on Inferno, but magic already showed that they can perform better in critical rounds. For 3DMAX, the upcoming match will be a chance to take revenge, but the current map pool once again creates a difficult scenario for the French team.
CURRENT FORM
3DMAX — experienced roster, but unstable results
3DMAX have recently been alternating strong performances with unsuccessful series. The team defeated Gentle Mates and paiN with 2:0 scores, but also lost to Gentle Mates, K27, and HEROIC. This instability prevents the French roster from establishing itself closer to the world top 20.
Kursy has the best numbers among the highlighted players, but his rating over the last three months is only 1.04. Maka and Lucky will also play an important role, as the AWP impact, opening frags, and control of economically important rounds will depend on them.
magic — better form and stronger individual level
magic approach the match with more convincing recent results. The team defeated Gentle Mates and Walczaki with 2:0 scores and also beat EAC in a full series. Separate losses to Inner Circle and Ninjas in Pyjamas show that the roster has not yet reached full stability, but its overall trajectory remains positive.
The main individual figure is MaSvAl, who has a 1.14 rating over the last three months. He is ahead of Kursy in rating, multi-kill percentage, and average damage. AW and tenzy will also be important, as they provide the team with stability in rifle duels.
MAP POOL & VETO
Statistics over the last 3 months (3DMAX | magic):
- Cache: 60% | —
- Dust2: 67% | 43%
- Mirage: — | 67%
- Inferno: 29% | 67%
- Nuke: 0% | —
- Ancient: 25% | 60%
- Anubis: 25% | 33%
Expected veto:
- 3DMAX will almost certainly ban Mirage — one of magic’s strongest and most played maps, where the opponent has a 67% win rate across 15 matches. The French side themselves do not have a current official sample on this map.
- magic are highly likely to remove Cache or Dust2. Cache remains the least predictable map in their pool, while 3DMAX have a 67% win rate on Dust2.
Likely picks:
- 3DMAX: Dust2 — the French roster’s best map by win percentage. At the same time, the choice may depend on magic’s first ban.
- magic: Inferno — the team has a 67% win rate, while 3DMAX have won only 29% of their matches on this map. In addition, magic have already beaten the French side on Inferno in their previous head-to-head series.
Possible decider map: Ancient looks like one of the most realistic options for the third map. magic have a 60% win rate on it, while 3DMAX sit at only 25%. This difference may give the favorite a decisive advantage in a full series.
KEY DUELS
- Kursy vs MaSvAl — the main individual duel of the series and a battle for stable rifle impact.
- Maka vs AW — the duel for AWP control, opening frags, and an advantage at the start of rounds.
- Lucky vs tenzy — the battle for converting man advantages and efficiency in late-round situations.
PREDICTION
3DMAX have enough experience to force a competitive series, and Dust2 or Cache may give the French side a chance to take their own pick. However, the team is in weaker current form and has problematic statistics on most other maps.
magic look stronger in individual numbers, hold a higher position in the world ranking, and have already beaten 3DMAX on two potentially important maps. Their advantage on Inferno and Ancient should become key if the match goes all three maps.
Projected result: magic 2–1 3DMAX
