BLAST drops the BO5 format, heads to Copenhagen for seventh Slam

BLAST has announced the next iteration of its Dota 2 Slam series, with BLAST Slam VII heading to Copenhagen, Denmark, for a two-week battle spanning May 26 to June 7, 2026.

The seventh edition introduces format changes designed to maximise the amount of Dota 2 played, including a double-elimination bracket for the playoff stage and a new Last Chance Qualifier to the playoff system which replaces the Play-In format used at previous editions.

A total of 12 teams will enter the competition at BLAST Slam VII and not much is changed for the group stage part. The teams will play online through the first week in a best-of-one round-robin brawl. A total of 66 matches will be played across four days, from Tuesday to Friday, to determine which four teams advance straight to the playoffs.

At BLAST Slam VII, the top four teams in the group stage final standings will advance to the playoffs, as opposed to just two teams at the previous editions. The teams ranked 5th to 10th in the group stage will head to the Last Chance Qualifier while the bottom two teams will be eliminated.

Last Chance Qualifier matches will be held on Saturday, May 30, in a best-of-three series format as follows:

• 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 playoffs
• LCQ #4: 6th vs winner of LCQ #2 – winner qualifies to the playoffs

The playoff stage will be held at the BLAST studio in Copenhagen, Denmark, with six teams competing for the trophy in a classic double-elimination bracket as follows:

• Top 2 group stage teams receive a direct bye to the upper bracket quarterfinals
• Remaining 4 teams start in the upper bracket first round

All matches except the grand final are best-of-three, with the championship series played as a best-of-five.

Regional qualifiers path to BLAST Slam VII

Open and closed qualifiers for the $1,000,000 Slam VII edition will be held in three major regions: Europe, China, and Southeast Asia. This means that neither North nor South America will have a qualifying path to BLAST Slam VII, while Eastern and Western European teams will compete together for 2 slots. China and SEA will each have 1 qualifiers slot up for grabs. Open qualifiers will be held March 30-31, with two slots available for each of the three major regions, while closed qualifiers will unfold April 2-3 in a single-elimination bracket, best-of-three series.

TL;DR:

• Double-elimination playoffs
• +38 additional matches compared to previous iterations
• +12 hours of total game time for fans to enjoy