The group stage is wrapped up, and the playoff quarterfinals at the BLAST Open Spring 2026 are up next. We have two elimination matches on our plate: Aurora vs The MongolZ, and PARIVISION vs Falcons, and the winners will move on to the semifinals to face NAVI or Vitality, after they secured first place in their respective groups.
Aurora vs The MongolZ
Aurora got here by beating FaZe and FURIA, before getting 0-2’d by NAVI in the upper-bracket finals, so their path to the playoffs seems solid even if they didn’t grab the top seed.
The MongolZ took the harder road – they man-handled MOUZ, then lost to Vitality to drop to the lower-bracket semifinals. There they defeated Team Liquid in a surprisingly tough series, before knocking Team Spirit out of the tournament in the lower-bracket final.
Both teams are looking to be in a good form lately, but looking at the head-to-head, The MongolZ have simply been the better team for a while now. They lead in the overall map score 20-8, and have won the last five series against Aurora, dropping only one map – at the Thunderpick World Championship 2025’s third place match. The most recent meeting was also a sweep, just three weeks ago at the ESL Pro League Season 23’s group stage.
The map preferences and vetoes tell me that this should be a proper three-mapper again. The MongolZ insta ban Anubis and have not played it since its return to the map pool. Ancient is the ick map for Aurora, having played it only once in official matches. With those two vetoed, we’re probably seeing Mirage as MongolZ’s first pick (a map being played in every series between these two), and Dust2 as Aurora’s first pick. With three maps left, Inferno (Aurora 5 maps win streak), and Nuke (MongolZ 6 win streak, Aurora 4 maps loss streak) will most likely be removed, which leaves us with a fairly even decider map – Overpass. This is why this matchup doesn’t feel like a stomp, even with MongolZ dominating the head-to-head stats, but seeing their form I still lean MongolZ, simply because they’re handling the pressure spots much better than Aurora – did exactly that again in the elimination win over Spirit.
Prediction: The MongolZ 2-1.
PARIVISION vs Falcons
PARIVISION started off a bit shaky, barely winning against NiP 2-1 in a very competitive series. But then they completely flipped the script by stomping the favored Team Spirit 2-0 (13-3, 13-8), before losing to Vitality in close series at the upper-bracket final, going on as the 2nd seed for the playoff’s quarterfinals.
Falcons had an even more turbulent road. They ran over NRG in the opening match, then got reverse-swept by NAVI in the upper-bracket semifinals. Down in the lower-bracket, they dodged an upset against TYLOO, then defeated FURIA 2-1 in the final in thriller series, where they turned the game around in the decider after being down 3-9 at the half and won 13-10 and qualify for the playoffs.
The head-to-head have not been kind to Falcons. PARIVISION are 5-1 in maps, winning both series at the BLAST Bounty 2026 Season 1 and PGL Cluj-Napoca 2026.
This still feels like a three-map series though, because the vetoes create a very familiar structure. PARIVISION have 47% pick rate on Dust2, with a 68% win rate, while Falcons first-picks Mirage, and sit on a 80% win rate (currently on a 4 maps win streak). Those two maps were the opening picks in the previous meetings too, so there’s a good chance we’ll see those again. The bans are also clear, with Nuke (PARIVISION, 100% ban rate), and Overpass (Falcons, 97% ban rate), and with Ancient, Inferno, and Anubis left from the pool, it’s an even battleground.
I feel like Falcons have the upper-hand this time, even with the head-to-head leaning slightly toward PARIVISION, as their depth and individual quality gives them more ways to close tight series like this one is expected to be. They’ve also looked more reliable in pressure games lately, something they’ve been working on hard according to Hotspawn’s interview with NiKo. Falcons seek revenge for previous defeats, and I think this will be the series where they flip the script.
Prediction: Falcons 2-1.
