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An image of Tundra Esports' Dota 2 roster.

Tundra Esports claimed their third straight BLAST Slam title at BLAST Slam IV (Image: BLAST).

Dota 2

1 month ago

Tundra Esports outlast Team Falcons to win BLAST Slam IV in Singapore

Tundra Esports continue their dominance over the BLAST Slam circuit by claiming their third straight trophy in the series.

Western European Dota 2 powerhouse  Tundra Esports have claimed their third straight BLAST Slam title at BLAST Slam IV in Singapore after they outlasted reigning The International (TI) champions Team Falcons, 3-2, in a hard-fought grand finals showdown in the Singapore Indoor Stadium on Sunday (9 November).

With their victory, Tundra claimed the grand prize of US$300,000 in prize money as well as US$100,000 in team earnings. They continue their dominance over the BLAST Slam circuit with a third consecutive championship win, adding to their first in BLAST Slam II in February and BLAST Slam III in May.

Meanwhile, Falcons settle for US$150,000 in prize money as well as US$50,000 in team earnings.

Both Falcons and Tundra earned their spots in the BLAST Slam IV Playoffs in Singapore after claiming the Top 2 spots in the tournament's Group Stage, which took place from 14 to 18 October. The two sides each finished the Group Stage with a 9-2 record, though Tundra earned the top seed by beating Falcons in their first encounter of the tournament. As the Top 2 seeds of the Group Stage, Tundra and Falcons would start the Playoffs directly in the semifinals.

The opening day of the BLAST Slam IV Playoffs saw both Falcons and Tundra sit in the sidelines to await their opponents in the semifinals. MOUZ defeated Team Spirit in three games to face off against Tundra, while HEROIC swept Aurora Gaming to get matched up against Falcons. 

The second day of the Playoffs then saw Tundra reverse sweep MOUZ, while Falcons demolished HEROIC, setting up a highly-anticipated Tundra-Falcons grand finals showdown. By virtue of being the reigning TI champions, many expected Falcons to cruise to an easy victory. But the fans watching the grand finals of the only major tournament to be hosted in Southeast Asia in 2025 were instead treated to one of the best matches of the entire year.

Tundra outlast Falcons in five games to claim BLAST Slam IV championship

The BLAST Slam grand finals kicked off as many expected, with Falcons crushing Tundra in 38 minutes to claim their first win of the series. Falcons' three cores led the way in the series opener, with Oliver “Skiter” Lepko on a surprise carry Venomancer pick pacing his team's 31-9 kill lead with nine kills and 13 assists on just one death. Stanislav “Malr1ne” Potorak on Pangolier added a clean eight kills and 12 assists while Ammar “ATF” Assaf on an offlane Razor pitched in with eight kills and six assists on two deaths.

Game two then saw Tundra quickly tie up the series at 1-1 after 39 minutes of action with a dominant showing of their own. Neta “33” Shapira on Timbersaw and Ivan “Pure” Moskalenko on Faceless Void notably put on masterful performances, with 33 racking up a perfect 16 kills and 13 assists while Pure had 13 kills and 17 assists on one death.

In the pivotal third game of the series, Falcons took back the momentum by stomping Tundra to the tune of a 23-2 kill lead in just 26 minutes of play. Skiter on Abaddon, Malr1ne on Monkey King, and ATF on Doom combined for 20 kills and 18 assists with zero deaths between the three of them. 

With Tundra on the ropes in game four, Falcons looked to close out the series with skiter on Gyrocopter, Malr1ne on Puck, ATF on his signature Mars pick, Andreas “Cr1t-” Nielsen on a support Batrider, and Jing “Sneyking” Wu on Enchantress. Tundra responded by drafting Morphling for Pure, Queen of Pain for Bozhidar “bzm” Bogdanov, Timbersaw for 33, Hoodwink for Matthew “Ari” Walker, and Bane for Matthew “Whitemon” Filemon.

Game four was a rollercoaster, with both teams constantly clashing for control of the map all throughout the early-to-mid game. However, Falcons were able to win the crucial clashes over objectives, eventually forcing Tundra into a difficult base defense as the game went late. 

In a bid to decide the series quickly, skiter bought Divine Rapier in order to clear out the remaining Tundra defenders and demolish their Ancient. However, Tundra managed to put up a masterful defense of their base, taking down skiter and giving his Divine Rapier over to Pure. Much to the delight of the crowd watching live, the BLAST Slam IV grand finals went to five games after a 46-minute slugfest in game four.

The deciding game of the grand finals followed a very similar script to the one that came before, to the point that both teams had the same picks and bans in the same exact order as the one they had in game four. This has only ever happened once before in the history of Dota 2 esports, and for it to happen in the deciding game of the grand finals of a major LAN tournament was nothing short of spectacular.

The draft wasn't the only thing that was eerily similar between games four and five of this insane grand finals; the outcome was pretty much the same too. Both sides were on relatively even footing for much of the game, though Tundra were the ones that first found themselves in prime position to win the series this time around. However, Falcons also put up a stubborn defense of their base in the chaotic late game. And with the result hanging in the balance, skiter once again bought a Divine Rapier in order to secure victory.

But just like in game four, Tundra pulled off one clutch play after another, fending off what would have been the series-winning push from Falcons and stealing the Divine Rapier away from skiter. Despite Falcons' best attempts to rewrite the script, Tundra's victory almost seemed destined once both sides decided to run back their game four drafts. In the end, it took Tundra 56 minutes to claim ultimate victory in game five, and their third straight BLAST Slam trophy.

Tundra will not have long to wait until they go for a fourth BLAST Slam title, as BLAST Slam V is set to begin on 25 November. Just like the fourth edition of the series, BLAST Slam V will begin with an online Group Stage and Play-In before heading to Chengdu, China for the Playoffs in the Wuliangye Culture & Sports Center from 5 to 7 December.


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