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The inaugural BLAST-organised Tier-1 Dota 2 tournament, BLAST Slam I, is set to kick off on Thursday, featuring ten esports teams vying for the lion’s share of the US$1,000,000 prize pool.
In May, the Danish esports tournament organiser—mostly known for hosting one of the most prestigious Counter-Strike 2 leagues, the BLAST Premier–announced its first entry into Dota 2, expanding its presence in the global esports scene.
Named BLAST Slam, the new tournament series will stretch over two years, featuring nine events, each offering US$1,000,000.
The first BLAST Slam event will kick off later this week, welcoming some of the world’s strongest Dota 2 teams, who will face off at BLAST Studio in Copenhagen, Denmark.
The tournament will begin with two round-robin groups of five teams competing in best-of-one games for favourable seeding in the playoffs.
The group stage winners will advance to the semifinals; runners-up will receive a direct bye to the quarterfinals, while the third-placed teams will advance to the second round.
The bottom two squads from each group will begin their playoff journey in the first round.
Playoffs will be single-elimination with best-of-three matches, except for the best-of-five grand final.
Despite the unique format, there are no surprises in the outright betting markets.
The top Dota 2 betting sites have Team Falcons priced as +200 favourites to hoist the trophy and secure their seventh Tier-1 title of the season and third consecutive after winning BetBoom Dacha Belgrade 2024 and DreamLeague Season 24.
The International 2024 champions Team Liquid are a close second at +450, ahead of BetBoom Team (+600), Team Spirit (+700), and Gaimin Gladiators (+800), who round up the list of the top five favourites.
BLAST Slam I will begin with the first round of the group stage on Thursday, November 26, at 10:00 CET.
Welcome to, BLAST Slam pic.twitter.com/WOeJzcg6xG
— BLAST Slam (@BLASTDota) October 2, 2024
