BLAST SLAM VIII playoffs finally set. So what did we learn and who is left?
After four groups, decider matches, Seeding Matches and a Last Chance Stage, we have finally made it: the BLAST SLAM VIII Playoffs are set.
And while the road there occasionally felt like a tournament unto itself, it did tell us a few things about the early post-TI landscape.
PARIVISION remain terrifying. The TI runners-up are the only team heading to Malta without dropping a single game, cruising through their group before sweeping Aurora Gaming 2-0 in the Seeding Stage to earn a direct berth into the Upper Bracket Semifinals.
Team Spirit, meanwhile, apparently did not get the memo about taking some time to recover after winning their third International. Their Seeding Match brought them against one of the hottest teams of this season. Team Yandex, fresh off winning PGL Wallachia Season 9 and looking increasingly comfortable with ATF, took the opening game. Spirit answered emphatically, including a 26-minute Game 2 annihilation with a 36-13 kill score, before closing the series 2-1 and claiming the other direct semifinal spot.
LGD Gaming's new roster remains a work in progress, but an increasingly interesting one. After surviving Xtreme Gaming in the Group Stage decider, LGD once again found themselves fighting for their tournament lives against GamerLegion. They held on to take the series 2-1, securing their place in Malta and another opportunity to see just how high the ceiling on this new lineup might be.
Then there is 1w.
After an uneven start to SLAM VIII, 1w suddenly found their footing when there was no longer any room for error. They swept Team Nemesis 2-0 in the Group Stage decider before meeting the new OG roster for the final playoff spot. OG took Game 1, but 1w answered with two dominant (and perfect games by BZM) wins to reverse-sweep the series 2-1 and punch their ticket to Malta.
That leaves six: PARIVISION, Team Spirit, Team Yandex, Aurora Gaming, LGD Gaming and 1w Team.
Yandex will meet LGD and Aurora will face 1w in the opening Upper Bracket Quarterfinals, while PARIVISION and Spirit wait one round ahead for their next opponents.
So, after nearly a week of Dota, the playoffs can finally begin.
On October 8 —yes... Thursday, October 8.
Just when we reached the climax, BLAST called for an intermission....because first, everyone has to get to Malta.
