BLAST Slam 4 Power Rankings — First of the new season

It’s not even been a full month since the end of The International 2025 (TI14) — and we’re already looking ahead to BLAST Slam 4 as the first major tournament of the new Dota 2 season. The stage is set for the first big test for tier 1 teams and their new rosters and/or acquired players, and we didn’t even have to wait that long to see it.

So as the current competitive season begins, so do the power rankings for each LAN at the top level.

#1 — Team Falcons

Riveting, I know. The defending International champions proved why they are a team to be feared by fending off the red hot Xtreme Gaming in the TI14 grand finals, which they did by being the absolute Dota geniuses that they are. They showcased an unbelievable capacity to be flexible in that series, learning where XG’s weaknesses where bit by bit as they progressed through the five-game series.

Now that they’re rested and finished with the celebrations, they’re going to be the team to beat at BLAST Slam 4. Their entire lineup, even down to coach Kurtis “Aui_2000” Ling, is still intact — which makes them an obvious choice for the number one spot on this list.

#2 — Team Spirit

With four out of their five members from the previous season still around, Team Spirit definitely still have the chops to compete at the highest level without much trouble. The loss of team captain and longtime leader Yaroslav “Miposhka” Naidenov is a big deal, but the rest of the roster is still more than capable of getting to the end of any given tournament.

The X-factor, therefore, is of course Nikita “panto” Balaganin, the man they brought in to replace Miposhka in the same role. Filling such massive shoes is not going to be an easy task, especially for someone that hasn’t really been in a tier 1 team capable of fighting for LAN titles all that often. Yes, Aurora Gaming does count in this regard.

If panto can handle the pressure and if the rest of the squad can carry him otherwise, I’m confident that Spirit will be a threat at this event.

#3 — Team Liquid

Team Liquid had a poor showing at TI14, failing to even make it to the main event and crashing out in 9th-13th place. They just didn’t look ready at all to defend their title, and it’s resulted in the benching of Jonáš “SabeRLight-” Volek and the retirement of Aydin “Insania” Sarkohi. But now that they’ve gotten replacements in the form of Marcus “Ace” Christensen and Erik “tOfu” Engel, I personally think they’re in position to assert dominance over the competitive scene once more.

Naturally, it’s going to take some time for the two new recruits to gel with the rest of the lineup, but Ace and tOfu are consummate professionals. Their rivalry with Liquid back when they were still in Gaimin Gladiators will come in handy here, as it will have intimately informed them of their new teammates’ tendencies and playstyles.

Whether or not they’ll actually perform as such is still yet to be seen, but on paper, this should be one of the scariest squads on the planet right now.

#4 — Tundra Esports

Would you look at that: Ivan “Pure” Moskalenko is back as Tundra Esports’ carry. While not an earth-shattering upgrade over Remco “Crystallis” Arets, I think it’s still a significant one that might catapult Tundra back up to the very top of the competitive scene. The thing is, Martin “Saksa” Sazdov went on another one of his breaks, so there’s something balancing out their acquisition of Pure here.

Saksa’s replacement? Matthew “Ari” Walker, who is no slouch as a support player by any means, but definitely not one with the kind of pedigree that Saksa has. He could very well have a breakout season with Tundra, but he could also just serve to drag them down if he can’t adjust to his new environment. Therefore, I’m hesitant to put Tundra anywhere above this spot, even though they might still sneak into the final day in Singapore.

#5 — BetBoom Team

Thanks to Pure’s exodus back to Tundra Esports, BetBoom Team are left without arguably their best player from the previous season. That is, if you consider Pure more valuable to them than Vitalie “Save-” Melnic, who absolutely lived up to his username on more than a few occasions last year.

Instead of Pure, they’ll be running with Ilya “Kiritych” Ulyanov, who spent the last two years languishing in Virtus.pro without much to show for it other than a top 8 finish at TI12. There’s a light in the darkness here, though: Kiritych stood in for Pure at DreamLeague Season 26, and made it all the way to the grand final match in that situation. So it’s clear that he’s already a pretty good fit in this roster, which means that BetBoom have serious dark horse potential at BLAST Slam 4.

#6 — Natus Vincere

If I’m being honest, the field below the top five on this list is kind of bereft of top level talent. Either that, or the other teams that have better players than this Na’Vi roster does have to deal with the teething issues of putting together almost entirely new lineups for the season. Na’Vi didn’t perform that well at TI14, but they were just consistent enough over the span of last year for me to put them in this spot.

I respect organizations that stick with the same core of players through thick and thin, like when Liquid gave Insania and the rest a few years to really figure things out. It’s clear that Na’Vi are doing the same with this group, so I’m actually rooting for them to get better and bring some glory back to the team name. That said, I would be pretty shocked if they made it past the top 6 at this tournament.

The Rest

And we’re back to it: the rest! Out of the other remaining teams competing at BLAST Slam 4, I see only Yakult Brothers and Aurora Gaming potentially upsetting the balance.

Yakult Brothers recently added Nicholas “zeal” Lim Eng Han, who for my money is one of the best up-and-coming offlaners from Malaysia. If he performs as well as I think he could, he could very well elevate this team’s overall gameplay.

As for Aurora, they’re going to have to find a way to quickly integrate newcomers Rafli “Mikoto” Fathur Rahman and Chan “Oli” Chon Kien, as communication issues might crop up in this squad of mixed nationalities. If they do just that, though, the higher tiered teams had better watch their backs.