Team Spirit and PARIVISION won their groups with victories on Wednesday at the $750,000 BLAST Slam VIII event.
In the matchup of first-round winners in Group B, Team Spirit downed 1w Team 2-0, while PARIVISION topped LGD Gaming 2-0 in the clash of the two first-round victors in Group A.
Xtreme Gaming stayed alive in Group A by defeating Level UP 2-0, and Team Nemesis got past Natus Vincere 2-1 in a Group B matchup of previously winless sides.
Team Yandex swept MOUZ 2-0 while BetBoom Team topped OG 2-1 as play got underway in Group C. In Group D openers, Team Liquid edged Yakult Brothers 2-1, and Aurora Gaming blitzed GamerLegion 2-0.
Sixteen teams began the Dota 2 tournament, which will reward $270,000 to the championship side ($200,000 player prize, $70,000 team share).
The double-elimination group stage runs through Friday, and all matches are best-of-three. 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.
The 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 Wednesday, Team Spirit bested 1w Team in 43 minutes and 22 minutes, both on Radiant. Ukraine’s Illya “Yatoro” Mulyarchuk posted a 34-3-29 kill-death-assist ratio for Team Spirit.
PARIVISION pushed past LGD Gaming in 35 minutes on Radiant and 51 minutes on Dire behind a 20-4-23 K-D-A ratio from Russia’s Alan “Satanic” Gallyamov.
Team Nemesis sandwiched 42- and 43-minute wins on Radiant around Natus Vincere’s 32-minute victory on Dire. Thailand’s Anucha “Jabz” Jirawong amassed a 27-5-28 K-D-A ratio for Team Nemesis.
Xtreme Gaming rolled past Level UP in 46 minutes and 66 minutes, both on Radiant. China’s Wang “Ame” Chunyu logged a 25-11-21 K-D-A ratio for Xtreme Gaming.
Team Yandex handled MOUZ in 32 minutes and 42 minutes, both on Dire. Kazakhstan’s Alimzhan “watson” Islambekov wound up with a 22-1-11 K-D-A ratio for Team Yandex.
After BetBoom Team opened with a 39-minute victory on Dire, OG equalized in 32 minutes on Radiant. BetBoom Team won a marathon deciding map in 87 minutes on Dire. Russia’s Ilya “Kiritych” Ulyanov paced BetBoom Team with a 28-11-26 K-D-A ratio.
Team Liquid claimed a 36-minute win on Radiant before Yakult Brothers extended the match with a 31-minute victory on Radiant. Liquid took the last map in 37 minutes on Dire. Bolivia’s Adrian “Wisper” Dobles notched a 25-7-30 K-D-A ratio for Team Liquid.
Aurora Gaming eased past GamerLegion in 37 minutes on Dire and 42 minutes on Radiant thanks to a 19-5-19 K-D-A ratio from Indonesia’s Rafli “Mikoto” Fathur Rahman.
The upcoming schedule:
Thursday
–Group C winners match — Team Yandex vs. BetBoom Team
–Group C losers match — MOUZ vs. OG
–Group D winners match — Aurora Gaming vs. Team Liquid
–Group D losers match — GamerLegion vs. Yakult Brothers
Friday
–Group A decider match — Xtreme Gaming vs. LGD Gaming
–Group B decider match — Team Nemesis vs. 1w Team
–Group C decider match — Yandex/BetBoom loser vs. MOUZ/OG winner
–Group D decider match — Aurora/Liquid loser vs. GamerLegion/Yakult winner
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, two teams TBD
–Field Level Media
