Get our BLAST SLAM VIII preview, outright odds and betting tips for the 2026 Dota 2 tournament, including picks for PARIVISION and Team Yandex.
BLAST SLAM VIII returns to our screens on Tuesday, September 29, as the second big event following The International 2026, with 16 Dota 2 teams battling it out for a share of the US$750,000 prize pool.
The eighth iteration of BLAST SLAM is just around the corner, returning with an expanded field and changed format, including best-of-three series throughout the group stage.
Esportbet brings you a free BLAST SLAM VIII tournament preview, with all the details about the event you need, including outright odds from the best esports bookmakers, and outright betting picks from our team of experts.
For this event, the organizers introduced some changes, including the addition of best-of-three series throughout the group stage, where all 16 squads will be divided into four GSL-format groups of four.
The group winners will proceed to Seeding Matches, and runners-up to Last Chance Stage, while the bottom two teams per group will be eliminated early.
The Seeding Matches will have two best-of-three games to determine which two teams receive a semifinal bye and which two will proceed to the quarterfinals.
The Last Chance Stage will follow the same format, with only the two winners proceeding to the quarterfinals.
Playoffs is a double-elimination bracket with all games played as best-of-three, up until the grand finals, which are best-of-five.
In attendance are many of the world’s highest-rated squads, including the reigning The International champions, Team Spirit, PARIVISION, Team Yandex, Team Liquid, Aurora Gaming, and BetBoom Team, thus creating a very stacked field of world-class talent, ensuring a highly competitive event.
That promises many unforgettable moments for esports fans to enjoy and numerous betting opportunities for punters to explore, and you can find some of them here.
Team Yandex are the main favorites to win BLAST SLAM VIII, which is a fair assessment.
They’re the defending BLAST SLAM champions and one of the hottest teams in the scene, having placed third in the Esports World Cup and The International, and won PGL Wallachia Season 9 earlier this month.
PARIVISION are unquestionably one of the strongest teams attending BLAST SLAM VIII, having won four events this season, including the Esports World Cup.
They failed to close out the season on a high note, losing The International grand final against Team Spirit, but that loss should inspire PARIVISION to step it up and bounce back at BLAST SLAM.
Unlike most other teams who took a break following TI, PARIVISION have been practicing and have had no break.
This hunger, combined with the world-class quality of the roster, is enough to believe PARIVISION can make a run for the trophy.
Team Spirit won The International in August, and with that secured the tag of the world’s best Dota 2 team.
That, however, comes with an asterisk, as Spirit haven’t won anything before TI, so it is fair to question whether they’ll be as dominant at BLAST SLAM.
It is also fair to assume that Spirit took a well-deserved break after the championship run, which puts their preparation under a big question mark.
The quality is there even with two roster changes, but motivation to deliver might not be, making Spirit a dangerous team, but not quite one of the top contenders.
1w Team (formerly Tundra Esports) can be considered a solid squad who can disrupt the balance of power at BLAST SLAM VIII.
However, their performances in the last two months have been lacking.
In August, 1w Team placed seventh-eighth at The International, and they repeated that placement at PGL Wallachia Season 9.
In their defense, 1w Team had Indji “Shad” Lub stand-in for Ivan “Pure” Moskalenko in the recent event, but Shad did not perform poorly, so even with Pure back, 1w have a lot more to prove.
Team Liquid signed Adrián “Wisper” Dobles as a new offlane in September, who is an upgrade over Marcus “Ace” Christensen; however, they will be without Michał “Nisha” Jankowski for this event.
Despite bringing in Yeik “MidOne” Nai Zheng as Nisha’s replacement, Liquid’s mid lane situation is rough.
This is a quality team, who left a positive impression at The International, with a fifth-sixth place finish.
However, without Nisha, Liquid’s chances of making a run to the gold medal at BLAST SLAM VIII are much slimmer.
Aurora Gaming have made one roster change since exiting The International in ninth-13th place, adding former Team Falcons player Oliver “skiter” Lepko as a new No.1.
This single change makes Aurora Gaming a much more potent team; granted, it is not like they’ve not shown pulse this season.
Notably, Aurora Gaming enjoyed a very promising run in April-June, with two runner-up finishes at PGL Wallachia Season 8 and DreamLeague Season 29, before placing fourth in BLAST SLAM VII.
Their performances at the Esports World Cup and TI weren’t as fruitful, as Aurora failed to break into the top nine, but they look well-equipped to make some noise in Malta.
BetBoom Team have made big roster changes after The International, signing Georgii “swedenstrong” Zainalabidov and Alexander “TORONTOTOKYO” Khertek.
With a new player and a new coach come questions of what BB Team’s new identity is, and how good this roster really is.
While a bit of an enigma, BetBoom Team are, reportedly, doing extremely well in scrims, making a name for themselves as dangerous outsiders to make a splash at BLAST SLAM VIII.
However, it remains to be seen whether they’ll manage to translate that form to an official stage.
PARIVISION enter BLAST SLAM VIII with a point to prove, following a rough loss in The International grand finals.
Even reaching TI finals is a major accomplishment, but PARIVISION have previously shown very promising things, with titles from 1win Essence I and DreamLeague Season 29.
After losing their shot at lifting the Aegis of Champions, PARIVISION should be highly motivated to bounce back and chase their fifth tournament title of the year.
And they unquestionably have the talent to do just that.
PARIVISION to win
Team Yandex are, besides PARIVISION, in a class of their own at BLAST SLAM VIII, and they are the most in-form team attending the event.
Yandex won the last BLAST SLAM tournament, then secured bronze medals from the Esports World Cup and The International, and won PGL Wallachia Season 9 with Ammar “ATF” Al-Assaf as a new member of the team.
Team Yandex are evidently in great shape, and while they might be fatigued, it is hard to imagine them struggling against any team not named PARIVISION.
Team Yandex to reach the final
Mark Prezelj
Esports Betting Analyst
Mark Prezelj is a Slovenian esports betting analyst with over 3,500 articles at EsportBet and the founder of Lines64.com — someone who has been reading odds longer than most readers have been watching esports.
