BLAST Open Spring 2026 day 1 viewers up 32%, peak at 327,738

BLAST Open Spring 2026 opened to higher viewership than the previous event in the subseries. Opening day average viewership increased by more than 32% compared with the prior opener. Peak concurrent viewership reached 327,738 during Natus Vincere vs. B8 on Ancient.

The peak occurred at the close of the second map, when B8 took Ancient 19-17. Natus Vincere went on to win the series and move forward in Group A.

Two other matchups led the rest. Aurora Gaming vs. FaZe Clan reached a peak just 4.8% below the day’s high. FURIA’s win over TyLoo drew the third-best figure, nearly 100,000 under the top mark. Peak viewership on Day 1 was 55% higher than the start of the previous BLAST Open tournament.

Audience mix shifted by language. English-language viewership fell compared with the opening day of the last event, while Russian-, Brazilian-, and Turkish-language streams grew. The schedule grouped teams with large regional followings into broadcast windows that matched those audiences, lifting the total.

On the competitive side, Team Falcons defeated NRG 2-0 while fielding a substitute. Natus Vincere, the reigning ESL Pro League Season 23 champions, advanced past B8 after splitting the first two maps, including an overtime loss on Ancient.

Those results set the Group A bracket for Day 2. In the winners bracket, FURIA faces Aurora and Natus Vincere meets Team Falcons. In the lower bracket, TyLoo plays FaZe Clan and B8 faces NRG in elimination matches.

Viewership concentrated around longer and closer contests. The NAVI–B8 series drew extended stretches of concurrent viewers around key rounds on Ancient ahead of the decider. Aurora–FaZe held near-peak attention across maps, while FURIA–TyLoo started strong early in the broadcast window but finished below the top two.

As we reported earlier, Natus Vincere won ESL Pro League Season 23 on March 15 at Annexet Arena, defeating Aurora Gaming 3-1, their first title of 2026 after a drought since September 2025. Early rounds were online, and the playoffs returned to a live audience. Preliminary data showed average viewership fell 17% from the previous season while peak rose 19% to about 752,000, with strong Ukrainian and Turkish-language streams. Several Season 23 teams, including NAVI and Aurora, are set for BLAST Open Spring 2026, scheduled March 18–29 in Copenhagen and Rotterdam.