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Champions' graphic for BLAST Slam VI depicting Team Liquid.

Team Liquid defeated NAVI to claim the championship of BLAST Slam VI (Image: BLAST).

Dota 2

2 hours ago

Team Liquid defeat NAVI to win BLAST Slam VI

This marks Team Liquid's first tournament victory since their massive roster overhaul last October.

Western European Dota 2 powerhouse Team Liquid have been crowned as champions of BLAST Slam VI after they routed Eastern Europe's Natus Vincere (NAVI), 3-1, in the tournament's grand finals hosted in the BLAST Studios in Malta on Monday (16 February). 

With their victory, Liquid claimed the grand prize of US$400,000 (split between US$300,000 in prize money for the players and US$100,000 in team earnings for their organisation) out of BLAST Slam VI's US$1 million prize pool. This also marks the first title won by Liquid since their massive roster overhaul last October, when the team welcomed former Gaimin Gladiators players Marcus “Ace” Hoelgaard and Erik “tOfu” Engel following the retirement of longtime team captain Aydin “iNsania” Sarkohi and the departure of Jonáš “SabeRLighT-” Volek

Liquid's new roster claim their first tournament victory in BLAST Slam VI

Not many pegged Liquid to claim the championship of BLAST Slam VI heading into the tournament due to the roster's mixed results since the new season started, especially with the event's 12-team field including four-time BLAST Slam champions Tundra Esports. Even so, Liquid had a strong start in the Group Stage and finished with a 7-4 record, though they lost out on a direct berth to the semifinals in the Playoffs to OG and NAVI.

Liquid had to earn their spot in the Playoffs in the Play-In, where they swept GamerLegion to advance to the quarterfinals. There, they survived their toughest match of BLAST Slam VI in a five-game thriller against reigning The International champions Team Falcons to advance to the semifinals and be among the tournament's Top 4 teams

Liquid then swept OG, 3-0, to secure their spot in the grand finals. Facing Liquid were NAVI, a young but rising squad, who had survived their own five-game slugfest against Team Yandex to become the tournament's second grand finalist.

BLAST Slam VI's grand finals kicked off with Liquid taking the opening game of the series in 33 minutes behind stellar performances from team stalwarts Micke “miCKe” Vu and Michał “Nisha” Jankowski. MiCKe paced his team's 29-16 kill lead in game one with 13 kills and 10 assists on just one death on his carry Windranger while Nisha had nine kills and eight assists on three deaths on his mid Razor.

Game two was by far the closest game of the grand finals, with NAVI claiming their only win of the series after outlasting their opponents in a 63-minute thriller. Three NAVI players finished with double-digit kills in a bloodbath where they edged out Liquid 49-43, namely Taras “gotthejuice” Linnikov on Templar Assassin (15/8/9), Yurii “pma” Prots on a support Batrider (13/10/24), and Artem “Niku” Bachkur on Invoker (10/7/24).

Liquid were quick to shake off their loss in game two, however, as they absolutely dominated NAVI in the 34-minute game three to take a commanding 2-1 lead in the series. MiCKe once again led the way on the kill board, notching 15 kills and 12 assists on just one death as Kez to fuel his team's lopsided 42-17 kill score.

Despite NAVI's best efforts to mount a comeback in game four, Liquid simply outclassed them in 32 minutes to close out the grand finals. Liquid grabbed the lead after the laning stage and never looked back, securing the championship of BLAST Slam VI with another dominant performance punctuated by a 33-10 kill lead. MiCKe on Dragon Knight featured prominently in the closeout game with 11 kills and 10 assists on one death while Nisha on Ember Spirit added 10 kills and 10 assists against three deaths.


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