Picture Credit score: Michal Konkol for BLAST
Final week, match organizer BLAST introduced modifications to its Dota 2 collection, the BLAST Slam, revealing that they’re chopping the prize pool down from $1 million to $750,000. And to be fully trustworthy, this wasn’t a shocker to me. The Dota scene will get a million-dollar match virtually each single month, from the aforementioned BLAST Slam, to PGL Wallachia, to DreamLeague.
Although we’re getting a whole lot of free leisure, I – and I’m positive many others – have began believing that the Dota 2 esports scene has gone into fairly stale territory. We’re seeing the identical groups taking part in in yet one more million-dollar match – wow, by no means heard that story earlier than.
The problem is that, although BLAST, PGL, and ESL every attempt to differentiate their occasions in their very own methods, each single Tier 1 Dota match simply feels very repetitive. There’s nothing actually “particular” about any of them anymore.
Nonetheless, I nonetheless consider the Dota scene may be saved – and it’d begin with tournaments trying very completely different from those we’re used to.
Dota 2’s Tier 1 match sample
In case you’ve tuned into Tier 1 occasions this season, you would possibly really feel like the identical story retains repeating itself.
The primary situation is that we’re seeing the identical eight groups within the playoffs of each single match. The highest eight on the earth are crystal clear, and so they simply gatekeep the playoffs from another group at these occasions.
Oh wow, the group stage simply ended – I’m wondering who certified for the playoffs. Tundra, Yandex, PARIVISION, Falcons, Spirit, Aurora, BetBoom, and Liquid. What a shock.
We see the identical guys over and over, simply biking round who will get to win the match this time. Typically one in all them will bomb out early – however you may rely on them making it again to the playoffs on the subsequent match, which is only some weeks away.
Picture Credit score: PGL
Match organizers are attempting their greatest to modify up codecs – completely different group-stage constructions, completely different seedings – however most nonetheless finish with the identical outcomes. You’ve got 16 groups going into the group stage, and solely eight of them will see the sunshine of the playoffs.
And when you’re there, the viewing expertise doesn’t change a lot both. Similar casters, identical expertise, identical Bo3s all the best way to a Bo5 Grand Closing. Perhaps the match has a unique overlay and is held in a unique metropolis, however strip all that away, and also you’re watching the identical match once more.
A $1 million prize pool used to imply one thing, however now it’s mainly a month-to-month prevalence.
It’s not simply me, I swear
Hear, I do know I’d sound like I’m simply being a burnt-out cynic, however I don’t assume I’m alone right here. Some folks on Reddit are speaking about the identical situation. One consumer put it plainly: “Similar eight groups each match. No cash for Tier 2 groups. Similar DreamLeague, PGL, and BLAST tournaments ten instances a yr. Similar matchups – it’s boring, to be trustworthy.”
Even two-time TI winner Yaroslav “Miposhka” Naidenov is in settlement, saying: “I truthfully don’t know the way you don’t get bored with Dota. There are such a lot of tournaments each single day. You always watch the identical picks and the identical groups. It’s simply boring.”
Thoughts you, he stated this three months in the past when he was nonetheless taking a break from skilled play. My man was bored out of his thoughts – so bored, in reality, that he rejoined Group Spirit because the group’s secondary coach final month.
Even Group Yandex’s Ilya “CHIRA_JUNIOR” Chirtsov voiced his opinion, saying all tournaments really feel the identical and that some selection is required. I imply, it is a man who’s received three of those occasions this season and constantly makes deep runs. He’s actually getting paid good cash to play in these tournaments, and he nonetheless has complaints.
So yeah, I consider it’s not simply burnout speaking. There’s an actual staleness drawback, and it’s being felt broadly sufficient that even the organizers chopping prize swimming pools is perhaps quietly admitting it, too.
Give us Fearless Draft
Everyone knows Dota gamers hate League of Legends for stealing a few of our recreation designs, so perhaps we are able to steal one thing again. In case you’ve watched even a little bit of League of Legends esports, you’ve in all probability heard the time period “Fearless Draft.”
Right here’s how Fearless Draft works: as soon as a group picks a hero in a collection, that hero is gone for the remainder of the collection – for each groups. So, if a group picks Largo in recreation one, neither aspect can contact him once more till the collection is over.
I actually consider that Dota wants this proper now. Fairly badly. If we’re going to observe the identical groups, identical gamers, and identical format on a regular basis, we are able to at the very least strive altering the heroes we’re going to observe.
This prevents us from watching the identical meta heroes getting picked over and over. I feel we are able to all agree that this might positively make a collection much less bland and extra entertaining to observe.
Us Dota gamers additionally love tooting our personal horns about how this recreation calls for adaptability, and who higher to show it than the professionals? I’d argue with the ability to modify on the fly is a group ability, too. You have to discover options rapidly, and that’s precisely the form of stress that separates good groups from nice ones.
After all, this wouldn’t be an in a single day repair. The professionals would wish time to really modify, however I really feel like this era is price it if it means we cease watching the identical ten heroes in each single collection.
We now have 126 heroes within the recreation – let’s make use of all of them, proper?
Give the Tier 2 scene some love
The Tier 2 Dota scene barely will get any actual assist proper now. Positive, a few of these guys often slide into Tier 1 tournaments by qualifiers, however even then, they run straight into the identical eight groups gatekeeping the playoffs. More often than not, they simply develop into group stage fodder.
So right here’s my concept. If BLAST is already chopping prize swimming pools, why not use among the saved cash to fund a correct Tier 2/Tier 1.5 match as an alternative? I’d guess virtually any of those groups would kill for a shot at an precise LAN, even when the prize pool is sitting at one thing like $200,000. It’d be one thing just like the Dota 2 Minors Valve used to host for just a little bit.
We’d additionally get to see some contemporary faces. On the TI15 qualifiers final month, Gorgc put collectively a Group Bald stack, and Topson, Arteezy, and Ceb did one thing related with Retirement Residence. These campaigns pulled in some fairly nice numbers and content material, regardless that none of them certified for TI. These Tier 2 tournaments may very well be one thing they take part in. They don’t should be chasing a TI slot to be price watching.
And even when streamer stacks like this don’t stick round each occasion, at minimal, we’d be giving the precise Tier 2 hustlers extra visibility. I’m positive all of us wish to see Nigma Galaxy and OG play within the Grand Finals of an occasion, and let’s be actual – seeing them in a Tier 1 remaining is fairly unrealistic. So, think about a match the place they’re the favorites, and there received’t be a PARIVISION or Group Yandex bodying everybody.
Picture Credit score: Nigma Galaxy
Watching the most effective isn’t at all times essentially the most entertaining
Positive, we wouldn’t be watching the most effective Dota on the earth with these new tourneys, however I’d argue that’s truly an excellent factor. Qualifiers, the place most of those Tier 2 groups play, have produced among the craziest video games you’ll see all yr. Persons are throwing left and proper with wild momentum swings.
It’s not at all times clear Dota, however it could possibly generally be extra entertaining than watching Neta “33” Shapira itemize, play completely, and stomp groups in half-hour.
Counter-Strike 2 has already figured this out. Typically, LAN occasions exclude the very best groups on the earth. For instance, there’s one occurring proper now – the XSE Professional League 2026 is a million-dollar match, and the highest-ranking group is 9z, presently within the prime eight of the HLTV Rankings.
You don’t see the likes of Group Vitality, Group Falcons, Group Spirit, or FURIA right here, so no person goes to farm these groups for a free win. Sure, it isn’t good Counter-Strike, but it surely’s a sight for sore eyes and a construction that offers smaller groups an actual stage.
These kinds of tournaments can provide Tier 2 groups much-needed stage expertise that would increase their flooring and shut the hole with Tier 1 groups. It’s additionally an excellent alternative for scouting functions – perhaps a promising child makes waves and will get picked up by a Tier 1 group afterward.
Dota doesn’t actually have something like this proper now. Most Tier 2 groups are simply caught in qualifiers or get denied deep runs at Tier 1 occasions. It’s both Tier 1 or mainly nothing, and I’m positive we are able to do one thing about it.
![Evomon Shiny Bluebird [Shiny Volcrest Obtainment]](https://i3.wp.com/www.gamezebo.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/evomon-shiny-bluebird.jpg?w=120&resize=120,86&ssl=1 "Evomon Shiny Bluebird [Shiny Volcrest Obtainment]")
