Nine reflects about BLAST Slam I

Leon "Nine" Kirilin, The International champion and current midlaner for OG, shared his thoughts on his team’s performance and preparation during BLAST Slam I.  

"I don’t think we’ll finish last, and that’s obviously a good thing. In my opinion, this is the first tournament where we can truly show what we’re capable of. I don’t know what to expect, as the team is still in its early stages. I believe this bootcamp was productive, though our coach never managed to join us while we were here. 

We played the qualifiers without any prior experience of playing together as a full roster. In the coming days, we’ll participate in some online tournament [OG placed last at the 1win Series Dota 2 Fall — Editor’s note], which will be good practice for us. After that, we can fully integrate into the game and start progressing. We’ve found our direction and are already building an atmosphere where we can excel. That’s my goal."

Nine joined OG in October 2024. After winning The International, he played a few tournaments before taking an extended break. Upon his return, he experimented in the position 4 role, but ultimately reverted to mid-lane. Nine officially signed with OG after standing in for the team during the closed qualifiers for Western Europe at BetBoom Dacha Belgrade 2024, where OG placed third, narrowly missing the main event.  

BLAST Slam I takes place from 26 November to 1 December in Copenhagen, Denmark. Ten teams are competing for a prize pool of $1 million.