BLAST Slam 1: Talent List Announced

The upcoming BLAST Slam 1, officially BLAST’s first shot at its own professional Dota 2 tournament, just released its list of onsite talent for the event. The list itself was posted by BLAST on their official website earlier this afternoon, and includes more of the familiar faces that I’ve come to know and love.

There is, however, a pretty glaring omission here which we’re hoping is just a clerical error on BLAST’s part, which we’ll get to later. For now, here is the complete list of talent:

• Natalie “NatTea” Mahoney
• Robson “TeaGuvnor” Merritt
• Clinton “Fear” Loomis
• Alexandra “Reya” Roberts (A.K.A. “Sheepsticked”)
• Owen “ODPixel” Davies
• Ioannis “Fogged” Loucas
• Troels “syndereN” Nielsen
• Austin “Cap” Walsh
• Gareth “Gareth” Bateson
• Dominik “Lacoste” Stipić
• Jake “SirActionSlacks” Kanner
• Rasmus “Misery” Filipsen

NatTea will serve as the desk host for the entire event, something which I and the community at large have come to expect more and more of in the last few years of competitive Dota 2. She’s definitely one of the best in the business, so BLAST Slam 1 is in good hands here. Also notable is the presence of Misery, who last served as a guest panelist at the 2023 Bali Major. He also coached Southeast Asian squad Bleed Esports from May 2023 to May 2024.

Interestingly, BLAST has chosen to list Sheepsticked as Reya, the handle that corresponds to her persona as a virtual YouTuber. I doubt that she’ll be on the analysis desk as her virtual self, but that would be a pleasant and fun surprise if she does show up that way.

Note that both Gareth and Lacoste will be casting remotely, as mentioned in the post from BLAST. Everyone else will actually be onsite, it seems.

No Sheever at the Slam

But one person that unfortunately won’t be onsite is Jorien “Sheever” van der Heijden, one of the most tenured desk hosts in the entire Dota 2 scene. Like I said, this is a glaring omission that I think is a mistake, unless BLAST just forgot to put her on the announcement.

Of course, I’m confident that NatTea will kill it in her stead, but it seems like a missed opportunity for BLAST’s first foray into Dota 2 to not include Sheever here. I’m hoping to see her in BLAST Slam 2, that’s for sure.