[BSC26] Map Draft is coming. Here's what you need to know.

Map Draft is here.

Map Draft is coming for the Summer Split of BSC26, a long awaited feature promised at the end of the 2025 season by ESL. Now, BLAST is delivering on promise they haven't made - and everyone is excited to see how this will play out. Here's everything you need to know ahead of the second split:

Map Draft

Let's start with the biggest change in Split 2: Map Draft. Rumored for a while now, this new addition will take place on a rolling schedule concurrently with Global Bans and be done pre-match to be displayed on stream. This experimental draft sequence will only be played in the Monthly Finals.

Here's how it works:

1. Team sides are selected. The higher seed will get to choose whether they are Team A or Team B. (Ex. In a match between Bounty Hunters and LOUD, BH will get to choose which team side they are.)

2. Teams are informed of what gamemodes are in play for their match. Each round will have a pre-determined set of 5 gamemodes available for the match of the 6 total in competitive.

3. The Map Draft sequence plays out determined based on the chosen team sides as follows:

   1. TEAM A picks Map 1 (4 modes remain)

   2. TEAM B picks Map 2 (3 modes remain)

   3. TEAM A picks Map 3 (2 modes remain)

   4. TEAM B picks Map 4 (1 mode remains)

   5. DECIDER MAP is automatically selected. The decider map will always be predetermined regardless of the gamemode based on the round of the tournament (quarterfinals, semifinals, etc)

When all is said and done, all five maps for the series and the four Global Bans will be set up for teams to play. During Monthly Finals, this process will happen two hours prior to the quarterfinals matches, and on a rolling schedule for any further matches.

FAQs

Is Map Draft in Monthly Qualifiers?

No. This experimental draft sequence will only be played in the Monthly Finals.

What happens if a team doesn't map ban?

If teams do not submit picks to tournament administrators on request, their turn may be forfeited and administrators may choose a random map or Brawl in the pool depending on what type of turn was forfeited

When does this go into effect?

The beginning of the Summer Split of BSC26 with the June Monthly Finals.

Updated Map Pool

This is a good place to mention the updated Map Pool for the Summer Split - here's an overview of what action packed battlegrounds we'll be seeing in the next few months:

Global Bans - Back and Better Than Ever

BSEN post from when Global Bans were introduced

In addition to format changes at the highest level of competition, Monthly Qualifiers are also getting a major new change: Global Bans. Section 6.5.2 of the updated English BSC rulebook notes that Day 2 of the Monthly Qualifiers will feature global bans in-game using the match room functionality in the tournament UI. This means that the high-stakes qualifier matches will be played under a higher level competition format. Teams who do not submit their global bans will play the series without any in effect (resulting in a possibility of 0, 2, 3, or 4 global bans.)

Global Bans being implemented in qualifiers marks a major shift for BSC mirroring the style of Ranked, where players learn newer mechanics as they advance and progress - in the same way, BSC will operate under this philosophy by introducing draft, global bans, and map draft at chronological stages of the competition.

With exciting changes around the corner, this is just the start of BLAST's planned improvements to BSC. We'll see what they have in store for the rest of 2026 and beyond.