PARIVISION will be having Jesse “JerAx” Vainikka as their Dota 2 coach at BLAST Slam III. The retired TI winner’s presence in PARIVISION at BLAST Slam III definitely caught fans’ off-guard, and generated a lot of excitement..
JerAx stands-in as coach for PARIVISION at BLAST Slam III (Image credit: Valve)
JerAx and PARIVISION at BLAST Slam III
It seems like the founding members of OG’s TI-winning roster is coming out of retirement for some Dota 2 action. Much like Johan “N0tail” Sundstein, who recently became head coach of OG’s roster , JerAx has also taken the opportunity to serve as PARIVISION’s coach at BLAST Slam III. Note that JerAx was simply standing in temporarily in place of Filipe “Astini” Astini since he’s absent from BLAST Slam III.
According to Astini himself, he’s taking some time off from his coach role in PARIVISION to support his eight-month pregnant wife. Considering she will be expecting the newborn very soon, it’s justifiable for Astini to step back from the competitive scene. Nevertheless, PARIVISION has to give props to JerAx for managing to step in as coach at such a short notice.
“Lesson learned from Liquid: if you keep finishing second and actually want to win a LAN… just make sure your coach doesn’t show up.
So yeah—I’m not going to BLAST.
Instead, @iamJERAX will be there with the team. Let the magic happen!”— Filipe Astini (@astinidota) May 5, 2025
JerAx as coach of PARIVISION
Despite JerAx’s reputation as a two-time TI champion, he has got some good portfolio as a coach too. Notably, he supported Team Liquid in achieving third-place finish at the International 2022 (TI11). It’s important to note that JerAx merely joined Team Liquid for six months and Liquid was in shambles to begin with.
They did not do well in the Dota Pro Circuit, so they failed to secure a direct invite to TI11. They also attempted to compete at the Western European Regional Qualifier for TI11, which they also failed. Ultimately, Team Liquid was able to qualify for TI11 via the Last Chance Qualifier , reached the semifinals before losing to Team Secret.
Even without this commendable feat JerAx has reliable, he is one of the most mechanically-skilled Dota 2 player in history. His playstyle as a play-making position-4 support Tiny, Tusk or even Earth Spirit, is a testament to his limitless creativity in Dota 2. Hence, JerAx certainly has the skills to back his expertise as a successful and coach.
How Have PARIVISION performed at BLAST Slam III?
It’s just as JerAx described in his response to Astini’s initial announcement, there’s a big shoe to fill for JerAx. PARIVISION is one of the leading Dota 2 teams in this season, having won ESL One Bangkok 2024 and more recently, ESL One Raleigh 2025 . Of course, PARIVISION has also been securing runner-up finishes in every major tournament in 2025 thus far and is even the first-place team on the ESL Pro Tour 2025 Leaderboard.
As such, JerAx’s out-of-the-box perspective on the current Dota 2 meta will surely be an interesting discussion between PARIVISION players and their new coach. Currently, PARIVISION is in the middle of standings after the group stage at BLAST Slam III , but the true challenge boils down to their upcoming Playoffs match.