BLAST SLAM VIII expands to 16 teams with revamped format and Malta Finals

This October, BLAST is expanding the competition to 16 teams and introducing a revamped online stage with Best-of-3 matches throughout, before bringing the final six teams to the BLAST Arena Studios in Malta for a four-day live Finals.

With a combined $750,000 USD prize pool on the line, the world's best Dota 2 teams will battle across two weeks of competition to lift the BLAST SLAM VIII trophy.

Bigger field, bigger competition

For the first time, we are expanding BLAST SLAM to 16 teams, up from the previous 12-team format, creating more opportunities for teams from around the world to qualify.

The slot allocation consists of:

• 11 direct invites
• 1 Americas direct invite
• 4 regional qualifier teams
  • 2 Europe
  • 1 Southeast Asia
  • 1 China

BLAST will send direct invites to main event teams on 4th August.

Team Yandex won BLAST SLAM VII

The road to BLAST SLAM VIII

Teams looking to earn their place at BLAST SLAM VIII will first battle through regional qualifiers across Europe, China, and Southeast Asia.

Open Qualifiers 26th to 27th August

• Two open qualifiers per region
• Regions: Europe, China, and Southeast Asia
• Single-elimination format

Closed Qualifiers 29th to 30th August

Eight teams from each region will compete in single-elimination brackets for the remaining places at BLAST SLAM VIII.

Qualification spots available:

• Europe: 2
• China: 1
• Southeast Asia: 1

The official roster lock for the main event is on 14th September.

A new look for Week One

BLAST SLAM VIII begins online from 29th September to 3rd October, introducing our biggest format update for the tournament so far.

We have removed Best-of-1 matches from the online stage. Every series will now be played as a Best-of-3, while our dual-stream broadcast will allow fans to follow more of the action across all four groups.

The opening stage features:

• 16 teams
• Four GSL groups of four teams
• All matches played on European servers
• Every series played as a Best-of-3

After the group stage:

• The four group winners will compete in seeding matches. The two winners will advance directly to the Upper Bracket Semi-finals at the LAN Finals.
• The two losing teams from the seeding matches will advance to the Quarter-finals.
• The four second-place teams will compete in a Last Chance stage, with the two winners claiming the final Quarter-final places.

Malta hosts the Finals

The final six teams will travel to the BLAST Arena Studios in Malta for the LAN Finals, which take place from 8th to 11th October.

We will host the Finals in front of a live audience, with the remaining teams competing in a six-team double-elimination bracket. The top two seeds will begin their campaigns in the Upper Bracket Semi-finals.

The tournament concludes on Sunday with a Best-of-5 Grand Final, where we will crown the BLAST SLAM VIII champions.

Ticket information will be announced soon, so make sure you are following BLAST Dota across social media for the latest updates.

$750,000 on the line

BLAST SLAM VIII features a combined $750,000 USD prize pool, split between player prize money and team earnings.

• $550,000 USD awarded as player prize money
• $200,000 USD distributed as team earnings

A full prize distribution breakdown can be found in the graphic below.

BLAST SLAM VIII key dates

• 4th August: Main event team invites sent
• 26th to 27th August: Open Qualifiers
• 29th to 30th August: Closed Qualifiers
• 14th September: Roster lock
• 29th September to 3rd October: Online Group Stage
• 8th to 11th October: LAN Finals at BLAST Arena Studios, Malta

See you in Malta

A bigger field. More Best-of-3 action. A brand-new competitive format. A live Finals in front of a crowd.

We cannot wait to bring BLAST SLAM VIII to fans this October.

More information, including invited teams and ticket sales, will be announced in the coming weeks via the BLAST SLAM channels and on BLAST.tv.