The Ukrainian Monte tag turned the BLAST Bounty Season 1 2026 into a platform for humiliating the favorites, and the latest episode sent shockwaves through the tier-one scene. Monte, a roster sitting 37th in the VRS, eliminated NAVI 2:1 in the online qualification, closing the issue of admission to the main stage in spectacular fashion. It was the second shocking result in a row for the underdogs, and it left the so-called Born to Win looking very much like a team that forgot how to close a series.
NAVI opened with Nuke and seemed in control, taking the map 13:11 after an 8:4 first half. Monte, however, produced a six-round streak that made w0nderful and B1t visibly nervous under pressure. One step from triumph, NAVI then watched Monte mirror the result on Mirage. The peak arrived when Bulgarian stand-in Alex Rainwaker Petrov pulled off a 1v3 clutch that buried NAVI's morale. On Dust II, NAVI had a brisk 6-3 start, but Monte switched on the skating rink mode. After the first half ended 6:6, the underdogs cemented their defense and closed the card 13:8, sealing a 2:1 series victory.
The main executioner of Born to Win was Rainwaker. His final rating of 1.23 and 50 frags were not just numbers — they were the result of incredible composure in clutch situations. His 1vX performances allowed Monte to flip the script on Mirage and Dust II precisely when NAVI held the scoreboard lead but could not keep the initiative. To put it simply, every time NAVI thought they had Monte cornered, Rainwaker found a way out.
His stat line looked like a benchmark game:
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🎯 K/D: 50/46 (+4)
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💥 ADR: 77.9
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🧊 KAST: 72%
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📊 Rating: 1.23
Bymas was not far behind, finishing with a 1.20 rating and a solid 52/42 K/D, showing remarkable stability on the rifle. Meanwhile, Afro did not pile up a mountain of frags, but his utility distribution quietly became one of the invisible factors behind Monte's victory. Sometimes the scoreboard lies, and Afro's impact was the proof.
On the NAVI side, things looked far less cheerful. B1t may have posted plus-seven in frags on one map, but the team's total contribution on the attack side was below the baseboard. iM and w0nderful played too average, without the peaks that usually pull dead games back to life. Aleksib and Makazze ended up in the red, and their grenade work on Dust II simply did not work against Monte's mobile defense. NAVI, fresh from a semifinal run at a Major in Budapest, suddenly looked unrecognizable.
Let's face it: this was not just a bad day at the office. FaZe Clan also flew away from the Swedes of EYEBALLERS on the first day, but that did not soften the blow for NAVI. From Valve's ranking perspective, such a departure is a disaster for the world number five. There is no time to whine, because IEM Krakow 2026 is already ahead, and the resistance level there will be even higher.
The current Monte roster is a hell of a mix of international talents:
| Player | Role |
|---|---|
| Jack Gizmy von Spekelsen | Captain and British leader |
| Oscar AZUWU Bell | Core talent |
| Aurimas Bymas Pipiras | Lithuanian rifler |
| Aurelien afro Drapier | French sniper |
| Alex Rainwaker Petrov | Stand-in replacing ryu, who left for Astralis |
Honestly, Monte currently sit on the 37th line of the VRS, but with this kind of game they could break into the top 20 very quickly. Online tournaments appear to be their natural habitat, and the tier-one scene may be watching the birth of a genuinely dangerous new competitor. Tough, to be honest — but nobody can say they did not earn it.
Data referenced from Liquipedia helps contextualize how rare it is for a VRS #37 roster like Monte to knock out a tier-one mainstay such as NAVI in a BLAST qualifier, especially after dropping the opener on Nuke. With Mirage and Dust II flipped through timely clutches and steadier late-round conversions, the result reads less like a fluke and more like a momentum-driven upset that can meaningfully reshape expectations heading into the next big LAN stretch.