BLAST Executive Producer Sebastian “Kuno” Gridhølt gave an interview to streamer Maurice “KheZu” Gutmann. He talked about how expensive and complex it is to run esports tournaments, especially in games like Dota 2.
Gridhølt said that large international tournaments can cost “several million” dollars in total. He noted that while the prize pool may be $1 million, organizing the event itself costs even more. These expenses include travel, venues, equipment, and staff.
Preparing a smaller studio tournament can take about two months of full-time work, while preparing a large arena event can take three to four months or more. Each event involves large behind-the-scenes teams, often 20 to 30 people, who manage the process during live broadcasts.
Kuno noted that shifting the BLAST Slam series to a hybrid format, where only the final stage is held on LAN, significantly reduced costs. Previous events, such as tournaments in Singapore and Chengdu (China), demonstrated how expensive logistics can be.
However, there are additional costs. The event lasts longer overall and features more matches, which means more broadcast time, greater production needs, and more staff, such as commentators and observers. Since BLAST focuses on high-quality production, this increases total production costs.
Gridhølt explained that BLAST has a full commercial department whose main task is securing sponsorships and partnerships. This team actively seeks brands, cities, and other partners who can collaborate with BLAST in a mutually beneficial way. The TO provides figures such as total viewership, unique viewers, and average watch time. These metrics are important because they demonstrate the value sponsors receive in return.
He particularly emphasized that Dota 2 has very high viewer retention, meaning fans tend to watch events longer compared to some other games. This makes it attractive to sponsors.
BLAST has moved away from title sponsor formats and now works with multiple sponsors, each covering its own niche.
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