BLAST has confirmed that ASUS will continue as a key technology partner for the entire 2026 BLAST Premier Counter-Strike 2 season, extending a collaboration that ramped up during the final stretch of 2025. Announced on 09 February 2026, the renewal covers six Tier 1 CS2 events spread across three continents and five countries, an ambitious scope that reinforces how central broadcast-ready hardware has become to modern esports production.
The renewed deal positions ASUS as BLAST Premier’s “Official Monitor, PC, Laptop, Keyboard and Mouse Partner,” meaning the gear fans see on stage and throughout the broadcast package will be tightly tied to ASUS and its Republic of Gamers (ROG) ecosystem. Beyond logos and naming rights, the partnership emphasizes performance consistency for players and a more integrated product story for viewers.
1) What BLAST and ASUS renewed, and why it matters for 2026
BLAST’s 09 February 2026 announcement makes the partnership renewal explicit: ASUS will support the full 2026 BLAST Premier CS2 season, spanning six Tier 1 events. That “season-long” framing is important, because it signals a consistent standard for competitive setups rather than event-by-event variation.
BLAST’s Alexander Lewin underscored the momentum from the prior year, saying: “2025 was an incredibly successful… and we’re proud to be going into 2026 re-signing with an industry leader in ASUS…” The message is clear, BLAST believes the 2025 integration worked, and the goal is to scale it across a complete calendar.
From ASUS’ side, Kris Huang positioned the renewal as an ecosystem play: “With this partnership, we’ve built a seamless ecosystem between our ultrafast displays and precision gear…” In practice, that means BLAST’s stage, practice areas, and broadcast visuals can lean on the same consistent hardware story, monitors, PCs, laptops, keyboards, and mice, rather than piecemeal components.
2) The six Tier 1 CS2 events covered (dates and locations)
The renewed BLAST × ASUS deal covers six events in 2026, with stops across Europe, North America, and Asia. BLAST specifically highlighted that the season spans three continents and five countries, emphasizing both logistical complexity and global reach.
Here is the full list of events, dates, and locations included in the partnership renewal (as stated in the 09 February 2026 announcement and reiterated by subsequent reporting): BLAST Bounty S1 (Malta) runs from 13 Jan , 25 Jan 2026; BLAST Open S1 (Rotterdam, Netherlands) takes place 18 Mar , 29 Mar 2026; and BLAST Rivals S1 (Fort Worth, Texas, USA) is scheduled for 29 Apr , 03 May 2026.
The second half of the season continues with BLAST Bounty S2 (Malta) from 21 Jul , 02 Aug 2026; BLAST Open S2 (Europe) from 26 Aug , 06 Sep 2026; and BLAST Rivals S2 (Hong Kong) from 11 Nov , 15 Nov 2026. The geographic spread is notable: it’s designed to meet fans where they are, while keeping the competitive product consistent across vastly different venues.
3) ASUS’ official role: more than branding, it’s the full gear stack
ASUS’ designation for 2026 is extensive: “Official Monitor, PC, Laptop, Keyboard and Mouse Partner” for BLAST Premier. BLAST also noted planned on-screen and promotional labels such as “Official Monitor/PC/Laptop/Mouse & Keyboard of BLAST Premier,” making the hardware categories explicit to audiences.
Crucially, BLAST stated that ASUS supplies the monitors, PCs, laptops, keyboards, and mice used in broadcast across all 2026 BLAST Premier events. That language points to a deep integration into the production workflow, what viewers see on player desks, in studio segments, and in highlight packages is part of the partnership deliverable.
This kind of full-stack role matters in CS2, where competitive integrity and reliability are constant points of scrutiny. While raw player skill determines outcomes, stable peripherals and standardized display performance reduce “variables” across events, helping the tournament operator keep conditions predictable from Rotterdam to Fort Worth to Hong Kong.
4) The on-stage monitor: ROG Strix XG248QSG Ace returns for 2026
BLAST highlighted that the ROG Strix XG248QSG Ace will continue as the on-stage monitor in 2026. The monitor previously featured in the final three BLAST Premier events of 2025, following the partnership announcement made on 29 July 2025 that brought ASUS ROG into the remainder of the 2025 season.
Performance claims cited by BLAST for the XG248QSG Ace are designed to speak directly to competitive FPS priorities: a 24.1-inch FHD Super TN panel, up to 610Hz refresh rate, ELMB 2, and approximately 0.8ms input lag. ASUS’ own ROG product page also emphasizes up to 610Hz (with VRR range notes) and the “0.8ms” low input lag positioning.
In the context of Tier 1 CS2, those specs are less about giving one player an advantage and more about ensuring a consistent, high-ceiling display environment across the stage. High refresh and low input lag are now part of the expected “baseline” for top-level events, and the renewal suggests BLAST wants that baseline to be recognizable and repeatable throughout the year.
5) “Powered by ASUS”: the BLAST Premier Esports Station spotlight
BLAST’s renewal announcement also called out a “Powered by ASUS” BLAST Premier Esports Station, listing components that read like a flagship build sheet. The featured parts include the ROG Strix GeForce RTX 5090, the ROG Crosshair X870E Hero motherboard, and an AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D CPU.
Whether this station is positioned as an on-site showcase, content feature, or part of the broader production setup, the intent is clear: BLAST and ASUS want fans to connect the tournament experience with a specific performance tier of PC hardware. It’s a tangible way to translate “official partner” into something viewers can understand, parts, performance, and a coherent platform story.
For esports organizers, these hardware callouts also serve a practical marketing function. Rather than relying solely on sponsor bumpers, they create a narrative hook around what powers the event environment, bridging competitive spectacle with the enthusiast PC audience that follows CS2 closely.
6) Broadcast and on-site activations: replays, booths, and Rotterdam’s significance
The partnership is not limited to stage equipment. BLAST stated that ASUS will receive a dedicated broadcast segment focused on highlight replays, including exclusive camera angles. From a viewing experience perspective, replay segments are premium real estate, fans rewatch the most decisive clutches and entry sequences, so attaching a sponsor to that moment increases recall.
On the ground, BLAST also confirmed that ASUS will run on-site booth activations at BLAST Premier arena events, beginning with Rotterdam. That’s meaningful because BLAST Open S1 in Rotterdam is positioned as BLAST’s first event in the Netherlands, giving ASUS a strong launchpad for fan engagement in a new market for the organizer.
When done well, booths provide the missing link between what fans see on broadcast and what they can physically try, keyboards, mice, laptops, and monitor demos that turn passive exposure into hands-on product familiarity. In a scene where many fans are also players, interactivity can be more persuasive than a standard sponsorship graphic.
7) Fan data signals: why the partnership likely pencils out
BLAST backed the renewal with attendee survey statistics that indicate strong alignment between the event audience and ASUS’ customer base. According to the figures cited in the announcement (and reiterated in industry coverage), more than one third of attending fans already use ASUS products.
Even more striking is the reported post-event interaction metric: 76% of fans who interacted with ASUS activations went on to engage with ASUS products following the event. While “engage” can cover a range of actions, the number suggests that tournament presence can drive measurable interest beyond the arena.
These stats help explain why the deal expanded from a late-2025 partnership (three events) into a full-year 2026 renewal. If the audience already overlaps with the brand and activations convert attention into follow-up interest, the partnership becomes easier to justify as both a marketing channel and a way to reinforce BLAST’s premium production positioning.
8) Competitive stakes and season texture: BLAST Open S1’s early signal
Beyond hardware and activations, the 2026 calendar is designed to deliver frequent, high-profile storylines. Industry reporting on 10 February 2026 added detail for BLAST Open S1: it will feature 16 teams and a $400,000 prize pool, with invites based on the February VRS.
That matters because early-season events often shape narratives for the rest of the year: roster moves get stress-tested, new IGL systems meet real pressure, and regional form gets compared on LAN. Placing a major arena event in Rotterdam with clear competitive stakes also creates a strong stage for the renewed BLAST and ASUS partnership to be highly visible.
With six Tier 1 events on the slate, two Bounty events, two Opens, and two Rivals, BLAST is effectively promising a steady cadence of marquee moments. ASUS’ equipment presence across that cadence means the brand becomes part of the season’s visual language, from opening-day desk shots to championship-point replays.
BLAST and ASUS renewing their partnership for all six 2026 BLAST Premier CS2 events is a signal of continuity in an esports landscape that often changes quickly. By locking in an “Official Monitor, PC, Laptop, Keyboard and Mouse Partner” across the full season, BLAST is prioritizing standardization and a premium, repeatable stage-and-broadcast experience.
For fans, the line takeaways are straightforward: a global tour from Malta to Rotterdam to Fort Worth and Hong Kong, a consistent ROG hardware footprint led by the 610Hz-capable ROG Strix XG248QSG Ace on-stage monitor, and more integrated content moments like dedicated replay segments and arena booth activations. If 2025 proved the concept, 2026 looks set to scale it, event after event, across continents.