Team Liquid has been crowned champion of BLAST Slam VI after defeating Natus Vincere (NAVI) 3-1 in the Grand Finals.
As a result, Team Liquid has received the lion’s share of the $1m (~£760,000) prize pool after winning the Dota 2 tournament.
Team Liquid began its run by placing third in the Group Stage standings, achieving a 7-4 win/loss record. On the other hand, NAVI had topped the Group Stage, punching its ticket directly to the Playoffs.
Team Liquid then faced GamerLegion in the Play-In Stage, where it claimed a decisive 2-0 win and qualified for the Playoffs. It was at this point that Tundra Esports, the winner of the past four BLAST Slams, was knocked out of the tournament after losing 0-2 to HEROIC.
The squad then faced off against The International 2025 champion, Team Falcons, in the Quarterfinals. After several intense matches, Team liquid came out on top with a narrow 3-2 win against the Saudi Arabian organisation.
The team then played against OG Esports in the Semifinals, securing a landslide 3-0 win to secure a place in the Grand Finals. Meanwhile, NAVI clawed its way to the Grand Finals after defeating Team Yandex 3-2 in the Semifinals.
In the Grand Finals, it was Team Liquid that claimed first blood after winning map one. NAVI responded by winning map two, a game that lasted for over an hour. However, Team liquid prevailed in the end after securing the next two maps, making history as the new champion of BLAST Slam.
Format Changes
Following the conclusion of the DOTA 2 BLAST Slam VI event, tournament organiser BLAST revealed details for upcoming BLAST Slams. The seventh iteration of the tournament will be held in Copenhagen, Denmark, from May 26th to June 7th.
Additionally, it will see format changes that will become standard moving forward. It is not the first time BLAST has introduced changes to its Dota 2 scene, as the BLAST Slam previously saw format changes last June.
Week one will be held online and twelve teams will compete in best-of-one round-robin Group Stage. The top four teams in the standings will move to the Playoffs, while teams ranked fifth to 10th will advance to the Last Chance Qualifier (LCQ).
According to BLAST, a total of four LCQs will be played. The first two games will be played as best-of-three series between teams placed seventh and 10th, and eighth against ninth. The winner will then move on to the qualification match to play against teams placed fifth and sixth, where the winners will reach the Playoffs.
The second week will see the LAN Playoffs take place, which will shift to a double-elimination bracket at BLAST Studios.
The top two teams from the Group Stage will be seeded in the Upper Bracket Quarterfinals, while the remaining four will begin their journey in the first round. All matches will be best-of-three, with a best-of-five Grand Finals.
Open Qualifiers for BLAST Slam VII will be held from March 30th to 31st and Closed Qualifiers are scheduled to run from April 2nd to 3rd.
