BLAST SLAM VII arrives in Copenhagen with some new format changes

The seventh iteration of BLAST SLAM will be held in the beautiful city of Copenhagen, Denmark, from May 26, 2026, to June 7, 2026. Here’s everything you need to know about BLAST SLAM VII Copenhagen:

Format

BLAST SLAM VII Copenhagen will be held over two weeks. However, there’s been a slight change in the format.

Week 1

The first week will be held online.

Twelve teams will compete in a best-of-one round-robin group stage, with 66 matches played in total. The top four-ranked teams will qualify for the Studio round (Playoffs), while teams ranked 5th-10th will play the Last Chance Qualifiers (LCQ).

The remaining two teams to place last in the group stage will be eliminated.

A total of 4 LCQs will be played:

• LCQ #1: 7th vs 10th (Bo3), winner moves to qualification match
• LCQ #2: 8th vs 9th (Bo3), winner moves to qualification match
• LCQ #3: 5th vs winner of LCQ #1 – winner qualifies to the studio
• LCQ #4: 6th vs winner of LCQ #2 – winner qualifies to the studio

The group stage will run from Tuesday to Friday, while the Last Chance Qualifiers will be held on Saturday.

Week 2

Only six teams will advance to the second phase of the tournament – the LAN Playoffs. These teams will compete in a classic double-elimination bracket at the BLAST Studios.

The action starts on Thursday.

The top two teams from the group stage will earn a direct spot in the upper bracket quarterfinals, while the remaining four teams will start in the first round of the upper bracket.

All matchups, except for the grand final, will feature best-of-three series. The grand final will feature a best-of-five format.

Qualifiers

The qualifiers for BLAST SLAM VII: Copenhagen will be divided into two parts:

• Open Qualifiers (March 30-31, 2026)
  • Europe: 2 Open Qualifiers
  • China: 2 Open Qualifiers
  • SEA: 2 Open Qualifiers
  • All OQs will follow the same format: Single-elimination, Bo1 initial matches, Bo3 semi-finals – both grand finalists qualify to Closed Qualifiers.
• Closed Qualifiers (April 2-3, 2026)
  • 8 teams (4 teams from OQ + 4 teams invited) [for each region]
  • Single elimination
  • All matches Bo3
  • Europe (2 slots): Winners of the semi-finals qualify for the Main Event
  • SEA (1 slot): Winner of the grand final qualifies for the Main Event
  • China (1 slot): Winner of the grand final qualifies for the Main Event

What changes?

We get to see more Dota 2 being played on the international stage.

• Double Elimination Playoffs
• More matches! (+38 games)
• More hours! (+12 hours games played)

Let’s play some Dota!