BLAST Bounty Winter 2026 Closed Qualifier betting tips – Thursday, January 15

The third round of BLAST Bounty Winter 2026 Closed Qualifier begins this Thursday, January 15, with the penultimate set of four fixtures, as eight Counter-Strike 2 teams battle for promotion into the next stage.

The day begins with M80 facing off against Gentle Mates, followed by a clash between Inner Circle Esports and 3DMAX, Ninjas in Pyjamas and Team Liquid, and finally, ECSTATIC taking on Team Falcons.

With a lot on the line in the single-elimination bracket, Thursday’s games promise fireworks, and plenty of CS2 betting opportunities to explore.

• 

  Fast Payouts

M80 vs GENTLE MATES

M80 and Gentle Mates will kick off the day in what promises to be a competitive series. M80 enter the match as slight favorites, largely because they have been active this month.

Unlike Gentle Mates, who played their last tournament in mid-December, M80 attended FRAG Miami 2 at the start of the month, and earlier this week won fl0m’s Mythical LAN. While neither tournament featured any good teams, the chance to be warmed up can be very valuable early into the new season.

• 

  The bookies' bookie

Gentle Mates have shown higher highs in 2025, but they will need some time to shake off the rust.

INNER CIRCLE ESPORTS vs 3DMAX

Inner Circle Esports lost one of their best player, Artem “cairne” Mushynskyi, to Ninjas in Pyjamas earlier this month. This is a huge blow for the Ukrainian outfit, who were not among the top candidates to secure a ticket for Malta to begin with.

3DMAX should have a realistic chance to reach the top eight. Despite their lack of success in bigger events in 2025, 3DMAX have hung with the best for most of the year and placed 12th-14th at the Major, two months after reaching the finals of the CS Asia Championships.

The long winter break will not do 3DMAX any good. However, they are up against an inferior team who recently lost their star player. A quick 2-0 is likely on the cards.

NINJAS IN PYJAMAS vs TEAM LIQUID

Ninjas in Pyjamas and Team Liquid are priced as equals on betting sites, even though Liquid are a much higher-seeded team. This is not too surprising, considering the two squads have accomplished about the same in late 2025.

Ninjas in Pyjamas were active more recently, at the Roman Imperium Cup III, so they should be less rusty heading into BLAST Bounty Winter. This alone could play a big factor on Thursday, granted they’ve been away from arena for three weeks.

Results-wise, the two teams are equal; however, Team Liquid have better individual talent, making it hard to pass on them at these prices.

ECSTATIC vs TEAM FALCONS

The best Counter-Strike 2 bookmakers have Team Falcons priced as $1.04 favorites to take down ECSTATIC in the first round of BLAST Bounty Winter qualifiers. This gives them a 96.2% implied probability of success, which is high but justifiable.

Team Falcons are one of the most stacked rosters in the world. And while they are known to flatter in the final stages of bigger events, the Falcons have been extremely consistent in beating lesser teams throughout the 2025 season.

ECSTATIC are a Tier-2 team, with no notable accomplishments from last season and no roster changes made ahead of 2026. While the early-season volatility makes backing the outsiders an intriguing option, the Falcons should not come close to losing a map against an inferior opponent.