BLAST Bounty Winter 2026 Closed Qualifier betting predictions – Wednesday, January 14

BLAST Bounty Winter 2026 closed qualifiers continue on Wednesday, January 14, with four fixtures in the second round of play. Wednesday’s slate will see Passion UA take on GamerLegion, followed by a clash between Monte and Natus Vincere, and culminating with Virtus.pro facing off against Team Vitality.

Esportbet brings you free Counter-Strike 2 betting picks for the day, with odds courtesy of the best esports bookmakers.

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PASSION UA vs GAMERLEGION

The second day of BLAST Bounty Winter closed qualifiers begins with a clash between Passion UA and GamerLegion in what is expected to be a competitive affair.

Passion UA enter the 2026 season with no changes to their roster, whereas GamerLegion have signed Janusz “Snax” Pogorzelski as a new in-game leader, adding much-needed veteran presence.

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Neither team impressed last season, though GamerLegion had one notable tournament run at PGL Masters Bucharest, where they placed fourth. Passion UA’s most memorable accomplishment was placing ninth-11th at StarLadder Budapest Major.

As the odds on the top Counter-Strike 2 betting sites suggest, this should be a close affair. There is nothing to separate the two teams quality-wise, and while GL will need time to adjust to a new IGL, that should not be a major handicap.

MONTE vs NATUS VINCERE

Natus Vincere enter the new season with high goals, following a promising semifinal run at StarLadder Budapest Major. It marked one of their most notable tournament placements of the season, as they managed only one tournament title – at StarLadder StarSeries Fall – and one silver medal at the Thunderpick World Championship.

Monte haven’t had the most fruitful year either, with just one tournament title from DreamHack Knockout Stockholm. However, they found their stride towards the end of the year and will hope to carry over the momentum into the new season.

Both teams seem to have found their footing towards the end of the last season, though the long winter break holds little value. Natus Vincere look better on paper and are rightly the favorites; however, they are known to start tournaments slow, making Monte an appealing pick to take one map.

VIRTUS.PRO vs TEAM VITALITY

Virtus.pro will kick off their BLAST Bounty Winter campaign with a challenging task, as they face off against the reigning Major champions, Team Vitality.

Team Vitality were the most dominant team of 2025 and they are expected to remain one of the elite squads in 2026. Meanwhile, Virtus.pro failed to win or even come close to winning a single big event in 2025, and they have not made any roster changes this offseason, except for appointing Dmitriy “ProbLeM” Martynov as an interim head coach.

The big question here is how much the winter break affected the team and whether the ring rust will lead to a scrappier affair. While possible, Team Vitality, even when not playing at 100%, should handle Virtus.pro with ease.