Ukrainian esports organisation Monte has scored the second surprise result of BLAST Bounty Season 1 2026.
The team completed a reverse sweep yesterday against fellow Ukrainian organisation NAVI, eliminating the team from the online closed qualifier.
Monte Sends NAVI Packing
NAVI opened the best-of-three with a hard-fought 13-11 win on Nuke to move within one map of victory. However,. Monte responded with a 13-11 win of its own, taking NAVI’s pick of Mirage to level the series.
Mirage was another close contest between the two sides, with Monte stand-in Aleks ‘Rainwaker‘ Petrov scoring a crucial one-versus-three clutch to force a Dust II decider.
NAVI began Dust II on the front foot, racing to an early 6-3 lead. Monte responded with three rounds of its own to end the half at 6-6. Thanks to the late first-half momentum, Monte dominated its defensive half, taking the map 13-8 to complete a 2-1 series victory.
Another Notable Team Eliminated
Having reached the semi-final of the StarLadder Budapest Major in late 2025, NAVI managed to end the year on a high note following a turbulent season.
The team isn’t the only notable name to drop out of BLAST Bounty in the round of 32. During the first day of the tournament, the Swedish side of EYEBALLERS defeated FaZe Clan to secure a place in the round of 16.
For NAVI, currently ranked 5th in the Valve Regional Standings (VRS), an early exit from BLAST Bounty Season 1 is far from an ideal start to the season. The team doesn’t have long to regroup as it switches focus to IEM Kraków 2026, the second Tier 1 event of the 2026 season.
Who is in Monte’s Counter-Strike 2 Roster
Monte consists of an international roster, led by British in-game leader Jack ‘Gizmy‘ von Speckelsen. He is joined by fellow British rifler Oscar ‘AZUWU‘ Bell and Lithuanian lurker Aurimas ‘Bymas‘ Pipiras, who arrived at the organisation in July 2025.
Rounding out the roster is French AWPer Aurélien ‘afro‘ Drapier and Rainwaker, who is competing at BLAST Bounty as a stand-in following the departure of Gytis ‘ryu‘ Glušauskas to Astralis.
Ranked 37th in January’s VRS, Monte has continued to climb the standings with solid performances in several Tier 2 online events. A deep run at BLAST Bounty will see the team climb further as it looks to cement its place among the world’s best teams.
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