Team Yandex and Aurora Gaming advanced to the group decider matches with victories Thursday at the $750,000 BLAST Slam VIII event.
Team Yandex swept BetBoom Team in a winners match of Group C and Aurora Gaming beat Team Liquid 2-1 in Group D.
In the losers matches, OG stayed alive with a sweep of MOUZ to reach the Group C decider match and Gamer Legion beat Yakult Brothers with a sweep to reach the Group D decider.
Sixteen teams began the Dota 2 tournament, which will reward $270,000 to the champion ($200,000 player prize, $70,000 team share).
The double-elimination group stage runs through Friday. The first-place teams in each group advance to the seeding matches, the second-place teams move on to a last-chance round, and the other eight teams are eliminated.
Seeding matches will decide which two teams begin the playoffs with byes into the upper-bracket semifinals. The two last-chance matches will determine the final two teams in the six-team playoff bracket. From there, a double-elimination bracket runs from Oct. 8-11 in Attard, Malta. All matches will be best-of-three until the best-of-five grand final.
On Thursday in Group C, Team Yandex defeated BetBoom Team in 37 and 47 minutes, both on Dire. OG beat MOUZ with a 60-minute win on Dire and a 29-minute victory on Radiant.
In Group D, Team Liquid opened with a 45-minute win on Dire but Aurora Gaming rallied with 40- and 64-minute wins on Dire. GamerLegion posted a 36-minute win on Dire and a 66-minute victory on Radiant to eliminate Yakult Brothers.
Friday’s schedule:
–Group A decider match: Xtreme Gaming vs. LGD Gaming
–Group B decider match: Team Nemesis vs. 1w Team
–Group C decider match: OG vs. BetBoom Team
–Group D decider match: GamerLegion vs. Team Liquid
BLAST Slam VIII prize pool (player prize, team share):
1. $270,000 ($200,000, $70,000)
2. $135,000 ($100,000, $35,000)
3. $95,000 ($75,000, $20,000)
4. $65,000 ($50,000, $15,000)
5-6. $35,500 ($25,000, $10,500)
7-8. $20,000 ($12,500, $7,500)
9-12. $11,500 ($7,500, $4,000)
13-16. $7,000 ($5,000, $2,000) — Level UP, Natus Vincere, MOUZ, Yakult Brothers
–Field Level Media
