BLAST Premier Bounty Season 1: Falcons vs Liquid — LAN Quarterfinal Prediction

This is the kind of matchup the Bounty format was designed to surface: raw firepower versus structure, confidence versus control.

Team Falcons arrive as the higher-ranked squad with a deeper recent win rate across key maps. Team Liquid arrive battle-tested from the play-ins, already comfortable under LAN pressure, and playing looser because the bounty burden is not theirs to protect.

On paper, this should be close. In practice, the margins are razor thin.

The Map Pool Tells a Story

Both teams share strength across the core competitive pool, but their weaknesses do not overlap cleanly.

Falcons are strongest on:

• Dust2 (75% win rate)
• Mirage (66.7%)
• Inferno and Nuke (both 62.5%)

Liquid show their edge on:

• Nuke (80%)
• Inferno (66.7%)
• Mirage (60%)

Neither team has shown Anubis or Overpass, which simplifies the veto and pushes this series into comfort territory rather than experimentation.

This likely means:

• Mirage or Inferno as a contested opener
• Nuke almost guaranteed to appear
• Dust2 heavily favors Falcons if it gets through

The veto phase will matter more than usual because both teams want similar maps for very different reasons.

Falcons: Firepower First, Questions Second

Falcons are built to overwhelm.

m0NESY and NiKo provide round-winning potential with minimal setup, and when the opening duels go their way, Falcons can snowball halves quickly. Their recent 3–2 form reflects volatility rather than weakness.

However, there is a recurring pattern:

• Strong starts
• Occasional mid-round hesitation
• Reliance on individual conversion late in halves

On LAN, that becomes a risk. If early momentum stalls, Falcons must prove they can grind out structured rounds rather than forcing them.

Liquid: Slower, But More Cohesive

Liquid’s recent record does not inspire confidence at a glance, but context matters.

They have already survived elimination pressure, and their wins have come through adaptation rather than dominance. siuhy’s calling emphasizes late-round clarity, and NAF remains one of the most reliable anchors on LAN.

Liquid’s problems show up when:

• Early-round space is lost repeatedly
• Dust2 enters the pool
• They are forced into constant retakes

If they can keep the economy stable and avoid prolonged CT-side droughts, they can absolutely take this series deep.

The Deciding Factors

This series will likely hinge on three variables:

1. Opening duels If Falcons consistently win early fights, Liquid will struggle to establish defaults.

2. Mid-round discipline on Nuke Both teams are strong here, but Liquid’s structure gives them a slight edge in slower rounds.

3. Mental response to momentum swings The bounty system amplifies every lost map. The team that resets faster wins the series.

Prediction

Prediction: Team Falcons win 2–1, with Liquid taking one map through superior mid-round control before Falcons close it out on raw firepower.