BLAST Slam 6 Malta changes format, includes longer playoff matches

Denmark-based tournament organizer BLAST will be making changes to the format of BLAST Slam 6 Malta, the sixth edition of their highly successful foray thus far into the professional Dota 2 scene.

To that end, all of the series during the LAN playoffs will be played as best-of-five (Bo5) matches, making for a longer but more substantial viewing experience for spectators.

Shifting gears

The full breakdown of the adjusted BLAST Slam 6 Malta format is as follows, according to BLAST:

Group stage (February 3rd to 5th, 2026)

• 12 team round-robin
• All matches are best-of-one (Bo1)
• 66 matches in total
• Top 2 teams advance to the playoffs

Play-in Stage (February 6th to 8th, 2026)

• 2 last chance playoff matches (bottom four teams from the group stage)
• 4 play-ins Matches
• All matches are best-of-three (Bo3)
• 6 matches in total
• Winners of play-ins advance to the Playoffs

Playoffs (February 13th to 15th, 2026)

• Matches will be played onsite at the BLAST Studios in Malta
• 2 Quarterfinals
• 2 Semifinals
• Grand final
• All matches are best-of-five (Bo5)

King of the hill, but better

It’s no secret at this point that BLAST Slam in particular has one of the more unique tournament formats in the Dota scene. The group stage is a 12 team round-robin with all Bo1 matches, where no team is eliminated for placing near the bottom of the ladder. However, any team that loses even a single match in either the last chance playoffs or the play-in stage proper will not make it to the LAN, and will be eliminated as a result.

Then, at least as far as the first five editions of BLAST Slam were concerned, the main stage matches would all be single elimination Bo3 sets as well, with the exception of the Bo5 grand finals. And while single elimination does create a lot of tension, excitement, and hectic gameplay, seeing a team work so hard to make the playoffs at BLAST Slam only to be sent packing in two games was anticlimactic at best and downright deflating at worst.

Making every playoff set a Bo5 would extend things greatly, and allow teams to adapt to their opponents on the fly much more frequently. We’ve all seen firsthand what a Bo5 match can bring us as spectators, with the International 2025 (TI14) grand finals between Team Falcons and Xtreme Gaming being the most notable example from last season.

You don’t even need to look that far back for that, actually — because the BLAST Slam 4 Singapore grand finals were scintillating to say the very least. Having more games in such a cutthroat, sudden death-style format would only be a good thing in my opinion, and would serve to reduce a lot of the variance that naturally comes with this kind of setup.

I’m sure the players would appreciate it as much as we do, if not more. It’s never great to just lose so suddenly and have nothing else to look forward to in the tournament, and naturally they’re going to want more opportunities to figure their opponents out in a set. Everyone wins, including BLAST — as long as they manage the scheduling correctly.

Personally, I have plenty of faith in them in that regard.