The return of Liquid: How two-time TI champions took the BLAST Slam VI title

Two-time TI champions, Team Liquid, are the new Dota 2 BLAST Slam champions. After a gruelling back-and-forth series against Na’Vi, which ended in a 3-1 victory for Team Liquid, the champions ended Tundra Esports’ four-time BLAST Slam championship reign. With its dominating victory, Team Liquid reminded the other Dota 2 teams that they’re back and, possibly, better than ever.

Not only did Team Liquid capture the title from Tundra, but they also shaped the Dota 2 competitive meta going forward. The team’s adaptability and experience overcame Na’Vi’s chaos, propelling Team Liquid to the top of the mountain once again. Here’s how they achieved this feat.

While other teams were focused on experimental Largo-centric lineups, Team Liquid played it safe and stuck to its strengths. During the early stages of BLAST Slam VI, Liquid approached its gameplay with restraint, testing the waters with secure lanes, scalable cores, and flexible support duos that helped its cores: all the factors that made them successful in the past.

The result of this was a stable group stage, where Liquid won most of its series, only dropping a single game each to teams like Tundra, OG, and Yandex. After a 7-4 group stage, Team Liquid defeated GamerLegion during the play-ins and made it to the BLAST Slam VI playoffs in dominant fashion, placing third overall in the rankings.

During the playoffs, Team Liquid levelled up even further. The new best-of-five format suited the team very well, knocking out fan favourites like Team Falcons and OG from the Dota 2 tournament, before defeating Na’Vi to become champions.

As mentioned earlier, most teams were trying to set up drafts built around Largo, sacrificing its strengths for the sake of the hero. Team Liquid was no stranger to the Bard Frog, seamlessly integrating him into its drafts without compromising the integrity of its gameplay. They used Largo to supplement their weaker heroes, offering great early-mid game heals.

When facing Largo, instead of banning the hero outright, Team Liquid would ban synergistic heroes prevalent in the BLAST Slam VI meta. Doing this ensured that Largo was reduced to nothing more than a healbot for weaker heroes, and could be safely ignored while dealing with the enemy team. Team Liquid showed discipline instead of playing a reactive game.

When they did use Largo, Liquid mostly drafted the hero for its offlane player, Ace. If they knew the hero was countered during the drafting phase, they would flex it to the support role, where tOfu would pick it up instead.

While Na’Vi set the early BLAST Slam VI meta by dominating most teams with its aggressive lineup and chaotic playstyle, Team Liquid played a more structured game while biding its time. Being two-time TI champions, the members of Team Liquid were used to high-pressure situations and very rarely reacted to Na’Vi’s constant provocations in the grand finals.

The only time Liquid faltered was during game two of the grand finals, where they were dragged into Na’Vi’s unpredictable chaos. Learning from this loss, Team Liquid stuck to its strengths, focusing on early lane dominance and a methodical playstyle that slowly starved Na’Vi out of the map in the third and fourth games, dismantling them from the inside.

The last two games were masterclasses in high-level competitive Dota. Liquid quickly took towers, placed aggressive wards, and controlled contested areas, shrinking the map for Na’Vi bit by bit until they were choked out completely.

Team Liquid’s monumental victory in the first major Dota 2 tournament of the year signals a competitive reset in the modern Dota 2 meta. While the early post-7.40 season showcased high volatility in drafting and overall gameplay, the meta wasn’t as defined as it is now. Liquid’s performance at BLAST Slam VI was a reminder that stability still wins championships.

Its strong performance throughout the tournament and subsequent championship win now positions Team Liquid at the forefront of the 2026 season. Teams that counted Liquid out early will now have the two-time TI champions in their crosshairs once again, formulating strategies to outplay them in the next Dota 2 tournament.

After Tundra Esports got knocked out by Heroic in the play-ins, it was up to a new team to stand tall and capture the Dota 2 BLAST Slam VI championship title. Team Liquid not only stepped up to the plate, but they also showed younger teams that they’re here to stay. Liquid’s quick adaptation to Patch 7.40 surprised a lot of younger teams and signalled a return to its TI form.

While Liquid had mostly been inconsistent throughout its 2025 run, its Dota 2 BLAST Slam victory could very well usher in a new era. Whether the team can maintain its momentum or if this is a single-event peak is yet to be seen, but it’s safe to say that Liquid is definitely the fan favourite going into the next Dota 2 tournament, DreamLeague Season 28.