Team Yandex defeat Team Spirit to claim BLAST SLAM VIII championship

Team Yandex have now won the first two major tournaments of the 2026-2027 competitive Dota 2 season.

Eastern European Dota 2 juggernauts Team Yandex have been crowned as champions of BLAST SLAM VIII after they defeated reigning The International (TI) champions Team Spirit, 3-1, in the tournament's best-of-five grand finals on Monday (12 October).

With their victory, Yandex claimed the grand prize of US$270,000 as well as their second BLAST title after BLAST SLAM VII last June. With the BLAST SLAM VIII title now adding to their victory at PGL Wallachia Season 9 in late September, Yandex have also won the first two major tournaments of the 2026-2027 competitive season.

Yandex's decision to sign Ammar “ATF” Assaf as their new offlaner following Team Falcons' exit from the scene has proven to be the biggest move of the post-TI 2026 roster shuffle, as they are now looking like the strongest team in the world.

Meanwhile, Spirit bow out of BLAST SLAM VIII in second place and will take home US$135,000 in consolation. While they miss out on following up their historic victory at TI 2026 with another Tier 1 title, it's still a commendable result when considering this is Spirit's first appearance since Bohdan “Batyuk” Batiuk and coach Ilya “IllidanSTR” Pevcaev joined the roster after Magomed “Collapse” Khalilov and coach Yaroslav “Miposhka” Naidenov both took a break from professional play.

Yandex and Spirit dominate BLAST SLAM VIII ahead of grand finals clash

The eventual grand finalists of BLAST SLAM VIII both enjoyed strong starts to the tournament, with Spirit finishing first in Group B and Yandex claiming the top seed of Group C. Yandex and Spirit then faced off the first time in BLAST SLAM VIII in the Seeding Matches, with Spirit defeating Yandex in three games to secure an upper bracket semifinals berth in the Playoffs.

In the opening day of the Playoffs, Yandex scored back-to-back victories over LGD Gaming and tournament favourites PARIVISION to become the first team to advance to the upper bracket finals. The second day of the main event then saw Spirit defeat Aurora Gaming in the upper bracket semifinals to set up a rematch with Yandex in the next round.

In their second encounter of the tournament, Yandex soundly swept Spirit to become the first team to advance to the BLAST SLAM VIII grand finals and knock the reigning TI champions down to the lower bracket finals. The final day of BLAST SLAM VIII then opened with a rematch of the TI 2026 grand finals, with Spirit pulling off a reverse sweep over PARIVISION to face Yandex for the third and final time in this tournament in the grand finals.

Yandex defeat Spirit to claim BLAST SLAM VIII championship

Spirit opened the grand finals by drafting for a strong mid game timing with Illya “Yatoro” Mulyarchuk on Ursa, Denis “Larl” Sigitov on Sand King, and Batyuk on Doom. Meanwhile, Yandex looked to outscale their opponents with a tri-core of Kez for Alimzhan “Watson” Islambekov, Dragon Knight for Ilya “CHIRA_JUNIOR” Chirtsov, and Razor for ATF.

Spirit dominated the laning stage and notably shut down ATF's progression by inflicting four deaths on him in the first 15 minutes of the game. With Yandex's tri-core hampered just as they hit their mid game power spike, Spirit rampaged across the map and secured the game one win after 40 minutes.

Yatoro fueled Spirit's lopsided 48-19 kill lead in game one with 19 kills and 12 assists on just one death. Larl and Alexey “not me” Kosmynin on Dark Willow each finished with nine kills and combined for 56 assists against eight deaths between the two of them.

Game two saw Yandex look to tie up the series by picking Kez for Watson once again, this time with CHIRA_JUNIOR on Earth Spirit and ATF on Timbersaw to initiate teamfights for their carry. Spirit countered with a high-tempo draft anchored by Nature's Prophet for Yatoro, Ember Spirit for Larl, and Brewmaster for Batyuk.

Both teams were on relatively even footing during the early game, but a massive teamfight win at the 23-minute mark allowed Yandex to take the lead and never look back. While Spirit were able to draw things out to the late game, a relentless Yandex assault led by ATF's Timbersaw eventually allowed them to tie up the series after 52 minutes of action.

ATF put up 20 kills and seven assists on three deaths to pace Yandex's 43-27 kill lead in game two. Watson added 10 kills and 17 assists against just two deaths while CHIRA_JUNIOR pitched in with seven kills and 25 assists on six deaths.

The pivotal third game of the series then saw Spirit pin their hopes on Yatoro's Anti-Mage, with Larl on Sand King and Batyuk on Dark Seer tasked with making space for their carry. Yandex countered with a high-tempo draft of their own, featuring Watson on Nature's Prophet, CHIRA_JUNIOR on Pangolier, and ATF on Monkey King.

Yandex took full advantage of their opponents' slower draft by getting active early, which gave them full control of the game as Spirit were unable to contest their pressure. Yandex simply bulldozed through Spirit from there and secured a commanding 2-1 series lead after a 48-minute rout.

Watson showed out with a perfect 14-kill, 14-assist performance to pace Yandex's 33-17 kill lead in game three. CHIRA_JUNIOR also had a clean seven kills and 19 assists while ATF finished with eight kills and 10 assists despite tanking five deaths.

Yandex looked to close things out in game four by taking the Anti-Mage for Watson, with CHIRA_JUNIOR on Earth Spirit and ATF on Doom rounding out their core lineup. Spirit looked to force the series to a deciding game five with Yatoro on Sven, Larl on Ember Spirit, and Batyuk on Brewmaster.

The early game was bloody, though Yandex came away with the lead as Watson had an easier time scaling while Yatoro encountered significantly more pressure. The crucial mid game clashes were then won by Yandex, as they only needed to focus on the enemy Sven to erase Spirit's chances of winning a teamfight. While Spirit were able to strike back in a couple of clashes, it was not enough to stop a surging Yandex squad from securing the 3-1 series victory after 56 minutes of action.

Watson led Yandex to the BLAST SLAM VIII title with 19 kills and 14 assists on five deaths out of his team's 51-37 kill lead in the closeout game. ATF added 13 kills and 22 assists on three deaths, while CHIRA_JUNIOR pitched in with 10 kills and 27 assists on five deaths.