“This is just absurd”, — Team Spirit manager on the disqualification of the academy roster from BLAST Slam VI

Team Spirit manager Dmitry Korb3n Belov commented on the disqualification of Team Spirit Academy from the first open European qualifier for BLAST Slam VI during his Twitch stream.

Team Spirit are not participating in the qualifiers, so it’s unclear why academy teams are not allowed to play in the qualifiers. This is just absurd. I think other organizers will not impose such bans.

According to Korb3n, the tournament operator’s decision looks illogical and contradicts previous practice. In the past, if an academy roster made it through the qualifiers, the club was asked to make a choice only before the tournament. Participation of academy teams in the qualifiers did not provide any advantage and did not affect slot distribution at the early stages.

He also took aim at BLAST’s approach to formats and qualifiers, voicing hope that other tournament operators will stick to established practices and intervene only when real conflicts arise.

Early, Team Spirit Academy were forced to withdraw from the European qualifier for BLAST Slam VI because the organization’s main roster is already competing in the tournament. Under the organizers’ rules, two teams from the same club cannot take part in the same event at the same time. NAVI Junior faced the same restriction.

In addition, BLAST Slam VI will introduce a revised playoff format, with all matches now being played in BO5 series.

Qualifiers for DreamLeague Season 28 will begin on January 5. Team Spirit have already been invited, while it remains unclear whether organizers will allow the academy roster to take part in the qualifiers.

The DreamLeague Season 28 qualifiers are scheduled from 05.01.2026 to 11.01.2026. The main stage will take place online from 16.02.2026 to 01.03.2026, with 24 teams competing for a $1,000,000 prize pool.

Earlier, Cyberscore reported that Heroic had unveiled a new support and completed their roster.