Team Yandex Are the BLAST Slam VII Champions

After a long journey, Team Yandex won the Grand Final and were crowned BLAST Slam VII Champions. The BLAST Slam seems to have finally found the sweet spot in seeding teams while still keeping the final results relatively unpredictable.

Let's take a look at how the Grand Finalists got past the Playoffs, how the tournament brought even more surprises until the very end, and what we should expect to come next on the Dota 2 professional circuit.

Team Yandex's Path to the Grand Final

Team Yandex started off by getting fourth place in the Group Stage with a 7-4 score and technically tied with Team Falcons. The tiebreaker rules placed them in the Second Round of the Last Chance Qualifiers, where they eliminated Team Spirit by winning 2-0.

In the first round of the Playoffs, Team Yandex faced Aurora Gaming and once again managed to get a convincing 2-0 victory in a couple of relatively long maps.

In the Semifinal, Team Yandex would face LGD Gaming for the second time and settle the score after losing in the Group Stage. Yandex won 2-1, pushed LGD to the Lower Bracket, and moved forward to the Upper Bracket Final.

In the Upper Bracket Final, Team Yandex played against BetBoom Team in an Eastern European face-off. BetBoom started with the advantage, winning 1-0, but Yandex managed to turn the series around and advance to the Grand Final after winning 2-1.

LGD Gaming's Almost Miraculous Run

As we mentioned in previous articles, LGD Gaming's roster seemed to flip a switch after joining the organization, and that came along with a stellar performance in the BLAST Slam VII Group Stage that awarded them a seed in the Playoff Semifinals.

Their first matchup was against Team Yandex, who pushed them to the Lower Bracket by winning 2-1. In the Lower Bracket, LGD eliminated Team Liquid (again) after winning 2-0 in the Quarterfinal.

Aurora Gaming was their second adversary, and LGD Gaming not only turned the tables on them but also set the record for most damage in a professional Dota 2 match after TaiLung picked Zeus in a 111-minute game on the third map.

Finally, LGD Gaming faced BetBoom Team in the Lower Bracket Final. The South American roster started out with a victory and won the matchup 2-1 after a couple of hard-fought hour-long games before advancing to the Grand Final.

Team Yandex Are the BLAST Slam VII Champions

Despite the disappointing result, LGD Gaming made an impression by getting to the Grand Final through the Lower Bracket after surprising everyone in the Group Stage and against BetBoom.

Yandex started by winning 2-0, and LGD Gaming won the third map after 52 minutes, sparking a brief moment of hope that lasted until the fourth map started.

Unfortunately for LGD Gaming, Team Yandex dominated the match and put an end to their dream after winning 3-1 to become the BLAST Slam VII Champions.

This means that Team Yandex takes home a grand total of $400,000 out of the million-dollar prize pool, LGD Gaming starts their new journey by earning $195,000 for second place, and BetBoom Team adds $93,000 to their coffers as the combined third-place prize.

What Comes Next?

Now that the BLAST Slam is over, we will have a month of regional qualifiers for every region for both the Esports Nations Cup (ENC) and The International 2026.

It's important not to mistake the Esports Nations Cup for the Esports World Cup. The Esports Nations Cup is an event that is also held by the EWC Foundation, but the idea is to make national teams compete for each country.

The International Regional Qualifiers will start on June 9 with the Open Qualifiers and finish on June 28 with the recently unified European Regional Closed Qualifiers.

This means that by the end of June, we will know the full list of teams qualified for The International 2026, and teams will start getting ready to head to Paris and play in the Esports World Cup, which starts on July 6.

Closing Thoughts

The BLAST Slam is the last Tier 1 event in the Dota 2 professional circuit before the biggest tournaments of the year. The meta is taking shape, patterns are quickly being recognized, and everyone is eager to battle once again.

It is very unlikely that we will see big changes in the meta from now on. This means that teams that are already performing well will most likely get even better results in the upcoming tournaments.

If you want to stay informed about meta shifts, tournament updates, eventual roster changes, and everything related to professional Dota 2, check the news section on the Strafe website!

READ MORE: TaiLung Breaks The All-Time Damage Record in Dota 2

Featured Image Source: Twitter (@BLASTDota)