BLAST heads to Mongolia in 2027 with historic Ulaanbaatar Open event

<p>BLAST have confirmed that the second BLAST Open of 2027 will be held in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. The Mongolian capital will host 16 teams competing for a $1,250,000 prize pool from May 10 to May 23, 2027, marking the first tier-one CS event ever staged in Mongolia.</p><h3>Why Ulaanbaatar</h3><p>The Mongolian scene has been on a remarkable ascent since The MongolZ' first Major playoff run, and the country has produced a steady pipeline of Prospects-list players. BLAST said the choice reflects the community's passion and rapid growth into what the organizer described as one of Counter-Strike's most engaged regional fanbases.</p><h3>Format and qualifiers</h3><p>Eleven of the 16 team slots will be invited directly from Valve Regional Standings. The remaining five will be filled through regional qualifiers across Asia, Europe, North America and South America. The pattern mirrors BLAST's globalized qualification strategy for the 2027 calendar.</p><h3>2027 event slate</h3><p>Ulaanbaatar joins BLAST's already-locked-in 2027 destinations of Rio de Janeiro, Singapore, Hong Kong and Malta. Mongolia will be BLAST's third confirmed event in Asia in 2027, a significant regional weighting for the organizer.</p><h3>What The MongolZ' fans can expect</h3><p>For the first time, one of the country's flagship teams — assuming a top-eleven VRS slot — will be able to represent Mongolia in front of a home crowd on a tier-one LAN. That storyline alone will drive a significant portion of the ticket demand and merch sales for the event.</p><h3>Big picture</h3><p>The announcement continues BLAST's post-Saudi consolidation of a genuinely international Counter-Strike calendar. With Bucharest as PGL's centerpiece and IEM Cologne holding down German soil, BLAST is leaning into frontier markets to differentiate the product.</p>

Sources

• https://www.hltv.org/news/45130/blast-to-host-2027-open-event-in-ulaanbaatar...
• https://blast.tv/cs/news/blast-open-2027-travels-to-mongolia...