OG and NAVI’s BLAST Slam V playoff run cut short

A merciless single elimination playoff bracket sent OG and NAVI home before they could even unpack.

Six teams made it to Chengdu, China, for the BLAST Slam V playoffs after playing the group and play-in stages online from Europe. However, for two of them, the trip came to a swift end on the very first day.

OG vs Team Yandex - 1:2

OG opened the day with a picture-perfect performance from Erin Jasper "Yopaj" Ferrer in the mid lane against Team Yandex. His 11/0/8 KDA on Dragon Knight allowed OG to dominate the first game and start the series strong. However, heading into the next game, Yandex opted for a glass-cannon carry and forced a high tempo from the early laning stage, placing all their hopes on Alimzhan "watson" Islambekov and his Lina.

The gamble paid off as Ilya "CHIRA_JUNIOR" Chirtsov avenged his mid lane loss from game one, making his presence felt on Shadow Fiend to even the series.

Sometimes you lose all lanes so badly that you never get to play real Dota, and that happened to OG twice in a row in the BLAST Slam V quarterfinals. Game three also went disastrously for the SEA representatives, who aimed for a late-game scenario with Terrorblade while Team Yandex overran them with a carry Ursa.

With OG eliminated in 5th/6th place and Yandex advancing to face Team Falcons in the semifinals, MOUZ and NAVI took the stage next, battling for a top-four finish at the year’s penultimate tournament.

MOUZ vs NAVI - 2:0

MOUZ arrived in Chengdu without their coach, Daniel "ImmortalFaith" Moza, but that didn’t slow them down. They opened the series with what felt like a Turbo match, securing a 23-minute victory thanks to a strong offlane performance from Miroslav "BOOM" Bičan on Pangolier.

Game two was by far the most even battle fans witnessed on the playoffs’ first day, with MOUZ running a carry Huskar countered by NAVI’s offlane Broodmother. However, MOUZ had Huskar’s best ally, Dazzle, on their side and eventually outlasted NAVI to advance to the semifinals.

MOUZ’s next challenge is halting Tundra’s dominant streak at BLAST tournaments—Tundra currently hold three consecutive BLAST Slam championship titles.

BLAST Slam V Semifinals Schedule

Saturday, December 6

• 07:00 CET / 14:00 CST — Team Falcons vs Team Yandex
• 11:00 CET / 18:00 CST — Tundra Esports vs MOUZ