The tournament will introduce a Play-In Stage in a LAN environment with 16 teams competing in a Swiss bracket over five days, with eight teams advancing to a playoff bracket in an arena setting.

BLAST Open 2027 S3 will be held in the United States from September 3 to September 12, 2027, marking a new format for the event.

The updated format shifts away from the previous Open events that used two groups of 8 feeding into a six-team playoff, integrating a more complex path from play-in to playoffs.

Out of the 16 teams, 11 will receive direct invitations via the VRS, while five teams will qualify through regional qualifiers, with North America receiving an additional host-region qualifier slot.

BLAST had previously announced the slot as part of a season called BLAST Bounty, but has now positioned the Open event as the main component of the 2027 calendar.

This announcement signals BLAST’s revamp of its 2027 circuit and identifies the first location for Open Season 3.