The BLAST Open Porto 2026 group stage ended with plenty of drama. Sixteen teams competed for six playoff spots, but not all of the favorites lived up to expectations. The biggest upset was Inner Circle's victory over Vitality, while one of the tournament's biggest disappointments was the early elimination of NAVI.
The six playoff participants have now been determined.
One of the biggest events of the group stage was Inner Circle's victory over Vitality.
The Ukrainian team managed to defeat the French squad in their opening match, sending them to the lower bracket. HLTV called the result one of the biggest upsets of the tournament's opening stage. Inner Circle continued their run in the upper part of the bracket, while Vitality had to begin a long journey through the lower bracket.
The situation became especially difficult for Vitality because the team was playing the tournament with jL as a stand-in. Despite the poor start, the French side managed to fight their way back and eventually reach the playoffs.
For Inner Circle, however, the fairy tale ended in the next stage. After defeating Vitality, the Ukrainians lost to MOUZ, and then to FUT — both series ended 0:2. As a result, Inner Circle finished 9th–12th.
Despite this, the victory over Vitality became one of the tournament's biggest moments for the Ukrainian scene.
If Inner Circle were the biggest surprise of the opening stage, then NAVI were one of the biggest disappointments.
The Ukrainian organization started BLAST Open Porto with a loss to M80. The North American team pulled off a major upset and sent NAVI to the lower bracket. HLTV described this as a continuation of NAVI's poor start to the season following their elimination in the round of 16 at the Esports World Cup.
In the lower bracket, NAVI got another chance but failed to take it. The team lost to G2 0:2 and ended their BLAST Open Porto run in 9th–12th place.
As a result, NAVI did not even reach the playoffs, despite being considered one of the main contenders for a high finish before the tournament.
In the second group, MOUZ produced the best result.
The team defeated Inner Circle and 9z before beating Falcons 2:1 in the upper-bracket final. This gave MOUZ, like Spirit, a direct place in the semifinals.
The young xelex also deserves a special mention, having delivered a very strong group stage. According to BLAST, his rating at this stage was 1.37 — the third-highest mark of the tournament at the time the group stage ended.
Falcons also reached the playoffs, but they did so without finishing first.
After victories over Legacy and Lynn Vision, the team lost to MOUZ in the upper-bracket final. Falcons will now have to begin their playoff run in the quarterfinals.
HLTV also noted that Falcons have not looked as convincing as they did during their IEM Cologne Major victory. The team dropped maps even in series they won, meaning they will need to improve in Porto.
For G2, the group stage could have ended much worse.
The team started the tournament with a victory over Aurora but then lost to Spirit. After that, G2 found themselves in a situation where every following loss would mean elimination.
In the decisive match against NAVI, G2 won 2:0 and then faced Aurora in the match for a playoff spot.
And once again, G2 had to show character.
The team defeated Aurora 2:1, with G2 producing a run of 13 consecutive rounds won on the deciding Mirage. r1nkle also deserves a special mention for an incredible 1v4 clutch.
As a result, G2 became the fifth team to secure a playoff spot.
The final team to reach the playoffs was Vitality.
After their shocking loss to Inner Circle, the French side found themselves on the brink of elimination. However, the team went through a real lower-bracket marathon.
Vitality first defeated 9z, then produced an incredible comeback against Legacy — on Nuke, the team was trailing 2:10, but still won the map in overtime. After that, Vitality defeated FUT 2:0 and claimed the final playoff spot.
apEX also deserves special mention. In the decisive match against FUT, the Vitality captain posted 101.7 ADR, helping the team complete an incredible comeback after their opening loss.
As a result of the group stage, the following teams reached the playoffs:
The playoff format is a single-elimination BO3 bracket, while the grand final will be played in a BO5 format.
Falcons — G2 — September 4, 16:00
The first quarterfinal is a rematch of the Falcons vs G2 matchup from the IEM Cologne Major.
On paper, Falcons look like the favorites, but G2 have already shown at this tournament that they can survive very difficult situations. In addition, the team received a huge boost after victories over NAVI and Aurora.
FURIA — Vitality — September 4, 19:30
Another very interesting quarterfinal.
FURIA had a strong group stage and lost only to Spirit. Vitality, meanwhile, came through the lower bracket after their shocking loss to Inner Circle.
For the French side, this will be an opportunity to prove that their poor start was only a temporary setback.
Spirit — winner of Falcons/G2 — September 5, 16:00
Spirit are already in the semifinals and have an additional day of rest.
The team won Group A without dropping a single map, with FURIA becoming their latest victim. Now Spirit will wait for the winner of Falcons — G2.
MOUZ — winner of FURIA/Vitality — September 5, 19:30
MOUZ will also start directly from the semifinals.
After defeating Falcons, the team secured the best possible position in their part of the bracket and will now wait for the winner of FURIA — Vitality.
The BLAST Open Porto 2026 grand final will be played in a September 6, 16:00 BO5 format.
The tournament's total prize pool is $1.1 million, with the winner taking home $150,000.
BLAST Open Porto has already given us several storylines: Inner Circle's shocking victory over Vitality, NAVI's early elimination, Vitality's incredible comeback, G2's survival run, and Spirit's flawless performance.
Now the tournament moves to the main stage in Porto. And if the group stage has already delivered so many surprises, the playoffs could be even more exciting.
As a reminder, One Step Back to Take a Step Forward: dumau analyzed Legacy’s performance at BLAST Open Porto.
