Esports entertainment company Blast has revealed plans to enter Dota 2, with a full schedule of events to be rolled out in 2024 and 2025.
Blast Slam will become the new home of Dota 2 esports, a tournament series ‘focused on unparalleled production quality and game changing fan-first moments’, the company said.
The tournament organiser, with operations in the UK, will host its first Dota 2 studio event in November, ahead of four events taking place in 2025. The specific dates are listed below.
The full extent of the new Dota 2 tournament series will be revealed in the summer, where further information on format, prize pool and locations will be shared. It’s possible one or several could take place in the UK, given Blast is shortly hosting other events here, like London’s CS2 Blast Premier Spring Final and the R6 Manchester Major.
Andrew Haworth, VP of Ecosystems, Valve & Riot Games at Blast, said: “We are delighted to be entering Dota 2 and have plans for Blast to bring a new level of production and excitement that Dota fans haven’t seen before. It’s a game we love as fans and players, we’ve been following closely as an interested tournament organiser for the last few years.
“As we’ve grown as a business and expand into further titles, Dota has always been on our wish list. With the recent changes to the Dota ecosystem we feel it’s the perfect opportunity for Blast to come in, provide the community with the next level of tournaments and become the new home of Dota 2.
“Blast prides itself on unparalleled production quality and game changing fan-first moments while bringing together the very best teams and biggest superstars to fight it out for glory on the server. We look forward to bringing this approach to the world of Dota 2 and providing fans with the best esports entertainment on offer.”
“We are delighted to be entering Dota 2 and have plans for Blast to bring a new level of production and excitement that Dota fans haven’t seen before.”
Andrew Haworth, Blast
This move marks an expansion of Blast’s tournament portfolio, diversifying its offerings beyond its ventures in Fortnite (FNCS), Rocket League (RLCS), Counter-Strike, and Rainbow Six Siege.
Blast.tv, a custom made esports live viewing platform, will add Dota 2 to its offering. Fans can access the Blast.tv interactive timeline feature, which catalogues standout highlights to be replayed on the playback timeline. The platform has a custom video player with 4K capabilities and a moderated live chat feature and interactive polls.
Outside of the live experience, ‘Blast.tv will be a one-stop-shop for Dota 2 esports fans’, the company said, providing them with player stats, team standings, mini-games, news and exclusive content and experiences.
Tournament schedule and dates announced as Blast enters Dota 2
- 26th November – 1st December 2024
- 4th – 9th February 2025
- 6th – 11th May 2025
- 14th – 19th October 2025
- 25th – 30th November 2025
The news comes after ESL One Birmingham 2024 took place recently, bringing 18,000 Dota 2 fans to Resorts World Arena.
We also recently published an article on the history of UK Dota 2 esports.
Dom is an award-winning writer and finalist of the Esports Journalist of the Year 2023 award. He graduated from Bournemouth University with a 2:1 degree in Multi-Media Journalism in 2007.
As a long-time gamer having first picked up the NES controller in the late ’80s, he has written for a range of publications including GamesTM, Nintendo Official Magazine, industry publication MCV and others. He worked as head of content for the British Esports Federation up until February 2021, when he stepped back to work full-time on Esports News UK and offer esports consultancy and freelance services. Note: Dom still produces the British Esports newsletter on a freelance basis, so our coverage of British Esports is always kept simple – usually just covering the occasional press release – because of this conflict of interest.
