BLAST Bounty Winter 2026 Qualifier Round of 16 betting tips – Sunday, January 18

The second and final round of BLAST Bounty Winter 2026 Closed Qualifier is set for Sunday, January 18, when eight Counter-Strike 2 teams will battle it out for a spot in the LAN stage.

Sunday’s slate begins with a competitive clash between Astralis and PARIVISION, followed by three one-sided affairs, as Inner Circle Esports take on Team Spirit, EYEBALLERS face off against Team Vitality, and FUT Esports meet FURIA.

But even though three fixtures are expected to be one-sided affairs, Sunday offers a few Counter-Strike 2 betting opportunities to explore on the best betting sites.

• 

  Fast Payouts

PARIVISION vs ASTRALIS

The final day of BLAST Bounty Winter Closed Qualifier begins with a clash between Astralis and PARIVISION, which is billed as the closest match of the day.

PARIVISION reached the second round after beating ENCE with 13-7 on Overpass and 22-20 on Anubis. Meanwhile, Astralis reverse-swept Fnatic with 12-16 on Mirage, 13-11 on Overpass, and 13-4 on Ancient.

• 

  The bookies' bookie

Both squads performed as expected in the opening round; they showed some wrinkles, but they eventually got it done.

However, based on those results, it’s hard to draw a line between them.

Astralis have done well with the two new players, though it’s clear they are not at 100% yet. This, combined with their worse map win rate on Dust2, Mirage, Overpass, and Ancient, makes it hard to trust them with our money.

INNER CIRCLE ESPORTS vs TEAM SPIRIT

Team Spirit are $1.04 favorites on the best Counter-Strike 2 bookmakers. This gives them a 96.2% chance of beating Inner Circle Esports on Sunday and securing a ticket for Malta.

This is a very high number, but a fair one. Inner Circle Esports are a tier-2 team who have done well so far this event, although beating the inconsistent 3DMAX is hardly something to write home about.

IC Esports have also lost their best player, Artem “cairne” Mushynskyi, to Ninjas in Pyjamas, which raises a concern of whether they’ll have enough firepower to keep up with Spirit.

EYEBALLERS vs TEAM VITALITY

EYEBALLERS upset FaZe Clan in the opening round of the qualifiers, with 6-13 on Ancient, 13-4 on Mirage, and 13-7 on Inferno.

Upset results like that are not too surprising after the winter break, but some teams are more prone to slow starts than others.

Team Vitality were the best CS2 team of 2025, and they showed no signs of slowing down on Wednesday, when they crushed Virtus.pro. That victory indicated that Vitality are ready to continue where they left off in December and continue the trend of beating everyone in their path.

FUT ESPORTS vs FURIA

The final match of the day is expected to be another one-sided one, as FURIA face off against FUT Esports.

The Ukrainian outfit kicked off the qualifiers with a 2-0 win over OG, taking Ancient 13-11 and Mirage 13-11. Meanwhile, FURIA swept 9INE with 13-8 on Anubis and 13-9 on Inferno.

• 

  Fast Payouts

FUT played well on Tuesday, but it does not change the fact that they are a tier below FURIA, who are among the main title contenders for the BLAST Bounty trophy. While we are still early in the season, when upsets are common, FURIA to win by at least 10 rounds at $1.80 is a fair offer.