BLAST Arena Studios

Malta has quietly become one of Europe's busiest homes for professional esports, and BLAST Arena Studios is the main reason. BLAST, the Copenhagen tournament organiser behind the BLAST Premier Counter-Strike circuit and the BLAST SLAM Dota 2 series, built a permanent broadcast studio inside the Malta Fairs and Conventions Centre at Ta' Qali. From here it produces whole tournaments, sending the matches out to a global online audience, and on the biggest days it opens the doors to fans who want to watch the world's leading teams play a few metres away.

For a UK traveller who follows competitive gaming, that makes a summer or autumn holiday in Malta a chance to see a top-tier event in person, in a compact studio setting rather than a vast arena. It sits naturally alongside the other entertainment venues in Malta as something genuinely different to plan a day around.

What happens at the studio

The studio is built for live competition. During a tournament the teams play on LAN, meaning on site and on the same network, which is how the most serious events are decided. BLAST Premier Bounty Season 2 in 2026 ran in Malta from 21 July to 2 August with 32 Counter-Strike teams, and the knockout stages were played in front of a crowd. In the autumn the venue then hosted BLAST SLAM VIII, a sixteen-team Dota 2 competition that ran from 29 September to 11 October.

Not every day of every event is open to the public. Earlier rounds are often played as studio broadcasts, while the closing days, from the quarter-finals to the grand final, are the ones most likely to have seats for spectators. The full schedule for each tournament, including results and brackets, appears on BLAST.tv, which also carries news and fan games for Counter-Strike, Dota 2 and Rocket League.

Getting a ticket

Tickets are handled through BLAST.tv. When the first Malta playoffs with an audience were announced, every playoff day was ticketed and the tickets were free to mark the partnership with GamingMalta. Fans who had signed up to BLAST.tv and registered an interest received an email with a link to claim a place, and later sign-ups were sent a registration link too. Places were very limited, so it pays to create an account well before the release time.

Arrangements can change from one event to the next, so check the attendee guide for the tournament you have in mind before you book flights to Malta. Each guide lists the doors time for every day and the start time of each match, given in Central European Summer Time, which is one hour ahead of the UK.

What to bring and what to leave behind

Entry is straightforward if you travel light. Bring nothing bigger than a rucksack, and expect venue staff to look inside it. Food and drink cannot be taken in, nor can drones, laser pointers, speakers, musical instruments, megaphones or cameras with detachable lenses. Smoking and vaping are not allowed inside the studio. Flags and banners are welcome only if they follow the event's code of conduct, which rules out anything commercial, political, offensive or altered from an official national flag.

Meet and greet sessions with some of the competing teams have been offered inside the venue, although which teams take part is only confirmed on the day. Keep an eye on BLAST's social channels during the event for the latest details.

Esports and the local scene

The studio is part of a multi-year agreement between BLAST and GamingMalta, the independent non-profit foundation set up by the Government of Malta to develop the gaming industry. Beyond the headline tournaments, the partnership supports grassroots players, links up with universities and aims to open doors for Maltese players and content creators. If you are visiting with teenagers who are keen gamers, this background makes the venue feel less like a television set and more like part of island life. For younger visitors there are also the escape rooms in Malta and bowling alleys around Malta for rainy afternoons.

Fitting a match day into a Malta holiday

Ta' Qali sits in the centre of Malta below the ridge of Mdina, so a tournament day combines easily with sightseeing. The walled city is only a short drive away, and our Mdina guide covers its quiet streets, cathedral and views across the island. If you would like to stay close by, the hotels in Mdina put you within easy reach of the studio. Most visitors base themselves on the coast instead, and where to stay in Malta compares the main areas. Buses run from Valletta, and the Valletta guide is useful if you are staying in the capital.

On busy concert nights the roads around Ta' Qali can be congested, so allow extra time. The summer events fall in the hottest months, and the Malta weather guide explains what to expect. For ideas on how to fill the rest of your trip, browse things to do in Malta.