PARIVISION, Team Spirit, Team Yandex, and Aurora Gaming have qualified for the BLAST SLAM VIII Playoffs.
The BLAST SLAM VIII Group Stage concluded on Saturday (3 October) with Eastern European Dota 2 powerhouses 
PARIVISION, 
Team Spirit, 
Team Yandex, and 
Aurora Gaming topping the four-group preliminary phase.
As the first Tier 1 tournament of the 2026-2027 season, BLAST SLAM VIII is expected to give fans a glimpse at how the competitive landscape will look like in the new season. While new squads from other regions are showing promise, it's looking like another season of Eastern European teams dominating the scene.
The BLAST SLAM VIII Group Stage split the 16 participating teams into four groups of four teams each. The teams then competed in a GSL-style Group Stage with best-of-three matches, with two teams from each group advancing. The top team from each group qualified for the Playoffs, but will have to play in Seeding Matches to determine their placement in the main event. The second place team from each group then advanced to the Last Chance Stage, while the third and fourth-placed teams were eliminated.
Read on as we break down all of the action in the BLAST SLAM VIII Group Stage:
PARIVISION cruise through Group A, LGD edge out Xtreme for second place
Despite narrowly missing out on the championship of The International (TI) 2026, PARIVISION still look like the strongest team in the world as they claimed the top seed of Group A without breaking a sweat. They stomped 
Level UP in their Opening Match, easily securing the 2-0 sweep in a series that lasted a total of 55 minutes of game time. PARIVISION then swept 
LGD Gaming's new international squad to secure the top seed of Group A.
After a 1-2 loss to LGD in the group's other Opening Match, China's 
Xtreme Gaming swept Level UP in the Loser Match to advance to the Decider Match. There, they earned a rematch against LGD for the second seed of Group A.
LGD stomped Xtreme in the 42-minute series opener, but the Chinese squad gave their opponents a taste of their own medicine with a 32-minute rout in game two that sent the match to a deciding game three. Xtreme were in prime position to exact their revenge late into game three, but some stellar play from 
Máximo “Wits” Orozco Alza on Phantom Lancer and 
Syed Sumail “SumaiL” Hassan on Storm Spirit allowed LGD to win the decisive teamfight and claim the 2-1 series victory.
Team Spirit claim top seed of Group B, 1w Team finish second
Reigning TI champions Spirit entered BLAST SLAM VIII with a different roster from the one that won their historic third Aegis of Champions two months ago. With offlaner 
Magomed “Collapse” Khalilov and coach Yaroslav “Miposhka” Naidenov both taking a break from competitive play, Spirit tapped 
Bohdan “Batyuk” Batiuk and Ilya “IllidanSTR” Pevcaev to respectively fill in the roster's offlaner and coach spots.
Even as they adjust to this new roster, Spirit easily claimed the top seed of Group B. While they lost their opening game of the tournament to Southeast Asian underdogs 
Team Nemesis, Spirit shook off their slow start and pulled off a 2-1 reverse sweep. The reigning TI champions then made quick work of 
1W Team to secure their spot in the Playoffs.
After their respectable showing against Spirit, Nemesis defeated 
Natus Vincere (NAVI) in three games to advance to the group's Decider Match. That win over NAVI proved Nemesis were not to be underestimated in future events, as they outperformed the team that had just finished second in PGL Wallachia Season 9 earlier this week. With that said, Nemesis were not quite on the level of the top tier teams as they got soundly swept by 1W in the Decider Match.
Team Yandex dominate Group C, OG upset BetBoom to take second place
Following their third place finish at TI 2026, Yandex upgraded their roster by signing former 
Team Falcons offlaner 
Ammar “ATF” Assaf and started the season by taking the championship of PGL Wallachia Season 9 in absolutely dominant fashion. On paper, the new-look Yandex with ATF could very well challenge PARIVISION's claim as the strongest team in the world, and BLAST SLAM VIII could very well serve as their proving ground.
Group C also featured two other intriguing teams in 
BetBoom Team and 
OG. BetBoom overhauled their roster for the new season, with 
Vitalie “Save-” Melnic now serving as the team's mid laner while Georgii “swedenstrong” Zainalabidov and Alexander “TORONTOTOKYO” Khertek taking on the position 4 support and coach roles, respectively. Meanwhile, OG fielded a new international roster headlined by the return of 
Topias Miikka “Topson” Taavitsainen.
Group C's Opening Matches saw Yandex make short work of 
MOUZ in a 2-0 sweep, while BetBoom narrowly defeated OG in a hectic three-game slugfest.
The Group C Winners Match then saw Yandex soundly sweep BetBoom to secure the group's top seed and a spot in the Playoffs. Meanwhile, OG bounced back from their loss in the Opening Round by sweeping MOUZ out of the tournament.
That then set up a rematch between BetBoom and OG in the Group C Decider Match. While BetBoom opened the series with a convincing win, OG turned the tables in the next two games to secure a 2-1 reverse sweep and survive to the next stage.
Aurora Gaming top Group D, GamerLegion upset Team Liquid to finish second
Aurora Gaming are one of the most intriguing teams in BLAST SLAM VIII, as they signed former Falcons carry 
Oliver “Skiter” Lepko to replace Egor “Nightfall” Grigorenko. After only managing a 5th-6th place finish at PGL Wallachia Season 9, Aurora are looking to produce a better result in this new roster's second tournament by claiming the top seed of Group D.
Aurora swept North America's 
GamerLegion in their Opening Match to advance to the Group D Winners Match to face 
Team Liquid. Liquid entered the tournament with plenty of questions surrounding their roster for the new season, as they had a new offlaner in 
Adrian “Wisper” Cespedes Dobles and are officially without a mid laner after 
Michał “Nisha” Jankowski took a break from competitive play. With the team yet to announce Nisha's replacement, Liquid competed in BLAST SLAM VIII with 
Nai Zheng “MidOne” Yeik as a stand-in.
While Liquid won the first game of the Winners Match, Aurora ultimately emerged victorious with a 2-1 reverse sweep to secure the top spot in Group D.
Even if they were playing with a stand-in, Liquid were heavily favoured to win the Group D Decider Match against GamerLegion. However, the North American underdogs proved themselves superior with a 2-0 sweep and claimed the group's second seed.
What's next in BLAST SLAM VIII?
With the conclusion of the BLAST SLAM VIII Group Stage, the tournament now moves to its Seeding Match and Last Chance stages. The Seeding Matches will see the four top seeds from the Group Stage face off, with the winners starting the Playoffs in the upper bracket semifinals while the losers will have to settle for a spot in the upper bracket quarterfinals.
Here are the matchups for the BLAST SLAM VIII Seeding Matches:
- PARIVISION vs Aurora Gaming
- Team Yandex vs Team Spirit
Meanwhile, the Last Chance stage will feature the four second seeds from the Group Stage duke it out for the last two spots in the Playoffs. The winners will advance to the upper bracket quarterfinals while the losers will be eliminated.
Here are the matchups for the BLAST SLAM VIII Last Chance stage:
- LGD Gaming vs GamerLegion
- 1W Team vs OG
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