BLAST Slam VII: Format, Schedule, Fixtures and More

BLAST Slam VII keeps the flame of DreamLeague Season 29 burning bright, starting shortly after the ESL tournament. Team Liquid are the defending champions for BLAST and could use the morale boost.

Let's take a look at the tournament organization, invited teams, and the matchups for the Group Stage. At the moment, this is the last Tier 1 tournament before the Esports World Cup.

The BLAST Slam VII is about to start and this will be the last big tournament before the Esports World Cup.

BLAST Slam VII: Lineup

As usual, let's start with the lineup attending the tournament. Twelve teams compose the lineup between direct invites and qualified rosters. They will fight for first place and for 40% of the million-dollar total prize pool reserved for the champions.

Team Liquid (Direct Invite)
BetBoom Team (Direct Invite)
Tundra Esports (Direct Invite)
Team Falcons (Direct Invite)
Team Spirit (Direct Invite)
Team Yandex (Direct Invite)
OG (Direct Invite)
ex-HEROIC (Direct Invite)
Aurora Gaming (RES Unchained 4 European Qualifier)
PARIVISION (RES Unchained 4 European Qualifier)
Xtreme Gaming (China Closed Qualifier)
GLYPH (RES Unchained 4 Southeast Asian Qualifier)

Twelve teams go in, six will get to the Playoffs and only one will get to the top.

Tournament Organization

BLAST Slam VII will have a round-robin Group Stage with best-of-1 matches running from May 26 until May 29. Teams will be seeded into different stages of the tournament according to their performance:

Top two teams advance to Upper Bracket Semifinals
3rd and 4th place teams advance to Upper Bracket Quarterfinals
5th and 6th place teams proceed to Last Chance Qualifier round 2
7th to 10th place teams proceed to Last Chance Qualifier round 1
Remaining teams are eliminated

Group Stage will be frantic and fans will have lots of interesting matchups to watch.

On May 30, the Last Chance Qualifier will feature best-of-3 matches to decide which two out of the six seeded teams will conquer the remaining slots in the Playoffs and fight against the Top 4 teams from the Group Stage.

Finally, the Playoffs will start after a brief pause for teams to rest and adjust strategies. From June 4 to June 7, BLAST Slam VII will feature best-of-3 matches and the classic best-of-5 Grand Final to crown the tournament champion.

Broadcast Talent

Natalie "NatTea" Mahoney returns as desk host and brings along many familiar faces in the casting crew. Apparently, we have three main caster duos, with Quinn joining KheZu, ODPixel paired with Fogged, and SunsFan alongside syndereN.

BLAST brings back a mix of fan favorites and new faces.

At the same time, BLAST seems to be preparing the new generation of casters and is bringing over some new faces for many of us. Zachary "ZQuixotix" Ang, Ricky "rkryptic" Peterson, Matt "Danog" Joyce, and Lachlan "Ares" Williams will cast part of the matchups to help BLAST keep up the pace with the huge demand of the Group Stage.

Group Stage Schedule

The Group Stage schedule will cram up to 18 matchups per day and feature interesting matches airing simultaneously throughout the day. Let's take a look at the matchups so you can choose your favorites:

May 26	Group A			May 26	Group B
08:00	Team Falcons	vs.	GLYPH	08:00	PARIVISION	vs.	OG
09:10	Team Liquid	vs.	Xtreme Gaming	09:10	BetBoom Team	vs.	ex-HEROIC
10:20	Team Spirit	vs.	Team Yandex	10:20	Tundra Esports	vs.	Aurora Gaming
11:30	Team Falcons	vs.	OG	11:30	GLYPH	vs.	ex-HEROIC
12:40	PARIVISION	vs.	Xtreme Gaming	12:40	BetBoom Team	vs.	Aurora Gaming
13:50	Tundra Esports	vs.	Team Spirit	13:50	Team Liquid	vs.	Team Yandex
15:00	Team Falcons	vs.	ex-HEROIC	15:00	OG	vs.	Xtreme Gaming
16:10	PARIVISION	vs.	Team Yandex	16:10	GLYPH	vs.	Aurora Gaming
17:20	BetBoom Team	vs.	Team Spirit	17:20	Team Liquid	vs.	Tundra Esports

Will Team Liquid manage to protect their championship on the BLAST Slam?

May 27	Group A			May 27	Group B
08:00	ex-HEROIC	vs.	Aurora Gaming	08:00	Team Falcons	vs.	Xtreme Gaming
09:10	OG	vs.	Team Yandex	09:10	GLYPH	vs.	Team Spirit
10:20	PARIVISION	vs.	Tundra Esports	10:20	BetBoom Team	vs.	Team Liquid
11:30	Team Falcons	vs.	Aurora Gaming	11:30	Xtreme Gaming	vs.	Team Yandex
12:40	ex-HEROIC	vs.	Team Spirit	12:40	OG	vs.	Tundra Esports
13:50	PARIVISION	vs.	BetBoom Team	13:50	GLYPH	vs.	Team Liquid
15:00	Team Falcons	vs.	Team Yandex	15:00	Aurora Gaming	vs.	Team Spirit
16:10	Xtreme Gaming	vs.	Tundra Esports	16:10	ex-HEROIC	vs.	Team Liquid

Will PARIVISION bag another championship before the Esports World Cup?

May 28	Group A			May 28	Group B
08:00	GLYPH	vs.	PARIVISION	08:00	OG	vs.	BetBoom Team
09:10	Team Falcons	vs.	Team Spirit	09:10	Team Yandex	vs.	Tundra Esports
10:20	Aurora Gaming	vs.	Team Liquid	10:20	Xtreme Gaming	vs.	BetBoom Team
11:30	ex-HEROIC	vs.	PARIVISION	11:30	OG	vs.	GLYPH
12:40	Team Yandex	vs.	Aurora Gaming	12:40	Team Spirit	vs.	Xtreme Gaming
13:50	Team Spirit	vs.	Team Liquid	13:50	Team Falcons	vs.	Tundra Esports
15:00	Aurora Gaming	vs.	PARIVISION	15:00	Team Yandex	vs.	BetBoom Team
16:10	Xtreme Gaming	vs.	GLYPH	16:10	ex-HEROIC	vs.	OG

Aurora might learn from DreamLeague and win the BLAST Slam.

May 29	Group A			May 29	Group B
08:00	Team Falcons	vs.	Team Liquid	08:00	Tundra Esports	vs.	BetBoom Team
09:10	Team Spirit	vs.	PARIVISION	09:10	Team Yandex	vs.	GLYPH
10:20	Xtreme Gaming	vs.	ex-HEROIC	10:20	Aurora Gaming	vs.	OG
11:30	Team Falcons	vs.	BetBoom Team	11:30	Team Liquid	vs.	PARIVISION
12:40	Team Spirit	vs.	OG	12:40	Tundra Esports	vs.	GLYPH
13:50	Aurora Gaming	vs.	Xtreme Gaming	13:50	Team Yandex	vs.	ex-HEROIC
15:00	Team Falcons	vs.	PARIVISION	15:00	BetBoom Team	vs.	GLYPH
16:10	Tundra Esports	vs.	ex-HEROIC	16:10	Team Liquid	vs.	OG

Interesting Matchups

Best-of-1 matches make things go fast, and you should move between streams just as quickly if you want to watch as many matchups as possible. Since there are so many options, let's take a look at my personal favorites from each group on each day of the Group Stage:

May 26 — Spirit vs. BetBoom and Tundra vs. Aurora

On the first day of the Group Stage, we already have an Eastern European classic with Team Spirit facing BetBoom Team in Group A. While Spirit seem to be getting back on their feet and placed third at DreamLeague, BetBoom were the final obstacle in PlayTime's path toward securing a direct invite to the EWC.

Day one already has many interesting matchups to start things off.

Group B starts just as early and features an exciting matchup with Tundra Esports battling Aurora Gaming. Tundra did not perform very well at DreamLeague, while Aurora reached the Grand Final. With both teams still warmed up, this will definitely be a matchup worth watching.

May 27 — OG vs. Yandex and ex-HEROIC vs. Liquid

OG had a surge of great results after moving to Southeast Asia, but things do not feel as good anymore. A win in Group A against a rising star such as Team Yandex might get them back on track for the EWC and The International.

OG and ex-Heroic are getting what feels like their last chance this season.

ex-HEROIC also have what feels like their last chance to shine and maybe find a new organization this season. Their match against Team Liquid could be a decisive moment that either makes or breaks the roster.

May 28 — Falcons vs. Spirit and Xtreme vs. BetBoom

Team Falcons had a perfect run in the DreamLeague Season 29 Group Stage but ended up getting eliminated by Aurora Gaming. Now, they have a shot at redemption, and a good performance could land them directly in the Playoff Upper Bracket Semifinals.

Xtreme Gaming has a lot to prove before The International.

Group B has a dramatic matchup where Xtreme Gaming will need to prove themselves as the countdown to TI in Shanghai gets shorter and shorter. Despite their status as runners-up in 2025, their performance in 2026 still leaves much to be desired and is certainly a point of concern for Chinese fans.

May 29 — PARI vs. Falcons and GLYPH vs. Yandex

Finally, the DreamLeague Season 29 champions will test their might once again against the reigning TI champions. Both teams have had good performances, but as things stand right now, Falcons have a strong need to prove themselves against PARIVISION.

PARIVISION will need to test themselves against the TI Champions once again.

Group B will have a busy last day for GLYPH, with three matchups scheduled. Team Yandex are one of their rivals on the final day of groups and should set the tone for the upcoming matchups. Will GLYPH rise to the occasion or crumble under pressure?

Closing Thoughts

BLAST Slam VII is another chapter in the constantly evolving Dota 2 professional circuit. This round-robin Group Stage filled with best-of-1 matches is a true delight for fans and a marathon for the teams involved.

Tension is starting to rise, with the Esports World Cup and The International on the horizon, and Valve might release yet another balancing patch before both events begin.

If you want to stay informed about the latest news regarding teams, players, meta changes, and professional Dota 2, make sure to check the news section on the Strafe website!

Featured Image Source: Twitter (@BLASTDota)