BLAST Premier, one of the biggest events in Counter-Strike esports, has confirmed it’s bringing a major tournament to Mongolia for the very first time. The event, called BLAST Premier Open Ulaanbaatar, will run for two weeks, from May 10th to May 23rd, 2027, and will be played live in front of fans.

Sixteen of the world’s top Counter-Strike teams will travel to Mongolia’s capital city to compete for a total prize pool of $1,250,000. That money is split into two parts: $500,000 will go directly to teams as prize money based on how well they place, while $750,000 will be distributed as team payments.

Along with the standard prize pool, teams competing in Ulaanbaatar will also benefit from BLAST’s newly introduced “Acceptance Fee” model. This is a separate payment structure designed to give participating teams additional financial support simply for taking part in the event, on top of whatever they earn from the prize pool itself.

Mongolia might not be the first country that comes to mind when people think of esports hotspots, but, according to BLAST, that’s exactly why the production company is making the trip.

The company says Mongolia has one of the most dedicated Counter-Strike fanbases anywhere in the world, where fans are known for packing out arenas. In fact, Mongolian esports team The Mongolz made a deep run at the BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025, reaching the grand final before ultimately losing to Team Vitality. The finals, though, brought thousands of fans to the Sükhbaatar Square in Ulaanbaatar at 4am for a watch party.

This announcement isn’t a one-off. It’s part of BLAST’s larger plan to bring its tournaments to new cities and regions that haven’t traditionally hosted major esports events. Alongside Ulaanbaatar, BLAST has already confirmed several events for 2027, including BLAST Premier Event 5 in Rio de Janeiro from October 4 to 17, the BLAST Premier Open in Singapore from March 15 to 28, and the return of the BLAST Bounty event to Malta in January 2027.

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