Team Yandex beat Team Spirit 3-1 to win BLAST Slam VIII in Malta and defend their BLAST Slam crown
Team Yandex came from a game down to beat Team Spirit 3-1 in the BLAST Slam VIII grand final in Malta, taking the US$270,000 top prize.
Team Yandex are BLAST Slam champions again. The Dota 2 side beat Team Spirit 3-1 in the best-of-five grand final in Attard, Malta, on Sunday, 11 October, recovering from losing the opening game to win three in a row. With the result came the US$270,000 first prize from a US$750,000 pool, and a second consecutive BLAST Slam title, following their triumph at BLAST Slam VII.
Spirit strike first, Yandex respond
Spirit made the better start, taking game one on the Radiant side in a little over 40 minutes. It was the only game they would win. Yandex levelled the series with a 53-minute win on the Dire side, then took game three, again on Dire, in 48 minutes.
Game four was the longest of the series at 57 minutes. Yandex, this time on Radiant, held their nerve to close it out and claim the trophy.
Alimzhan "watson" Islambekov was the driving force for Yandex across the four games, finishing with 50 kills, 12 deaths and 51 assists. He had also been central to their run through the upper bracket earlier in the week.
Yandex's road to the final
Yandex topped their group before dropping a seeding match to Spirit, which meant they had to play the upper-bracket quarter-finals. They came through a three-game series with LGD Gaming, then beat PARIVISION 2-1 in the upper semi-finals.
The upper-bracket final was their statement win: a 2-0 sweep of Spirit that sent Yandex straight into the grand final. It meant they arrived for the decider having already beaten the same opponents without dropping a game in the playoffs, although Spirit had won the earlier seeding meeting.
Spirit's lower-bracket route
Spirit had to go the long way round after losing to Yandex. They beat PARIVISION 2-1 in the lower-bracket final, coming from a game down after PARIVISION won the opener on the Radiant side. Illya "Yatoro" Mulyarchuk was outstanding in that series, with 28 kills against just seven deaths.
The Spirit roster in Malta featured some new faces, with Bohdan "Batyuk" Batiuk and coach Ilya "IllidanSTR" Pevcaev having joined, while Magomed "Collapse" Khalilov and coach Yaroslav "Miposhka" Naidenov stepped away for a break.
Prize money in Malta
The event offered US$750,000 across 16 teams, with each payout split between players and the organisation.
- 1st: Team Yandex, US$270,000
- 2nd: Team Spirit, US$135,000
- 3rd: PARIVISION, US$95,000
- 4th: Aurora Gaming, US$65,000
Teams finishing 13th to 16th received US$7,000 each.
Key takeaways
- Team Yandex beat Team Spirit 3-1 in the BLAST Slam VIII grand final in Malta on Sunday, 11 October.
- Spirit won the opening game, but Yandex took the next three to lift the trophy.
- watson finished the final with 50 kills, 12 deaths and 51 assists.
- Yandex earned US$270,000 and have now won BLAST Slam VII and VIII back to back.
- PARIVISION finished third and Aurora Gaming fourth.
FAQ
Who won BLAST Slam VIII? Team Yandex won BLAST Slam VIII, beating Team Spirit 3-1 in the grand final in Attard, Malta, on 11 October 2026.
How much did Team Yandex win at BLAST Slam VIII? Yandex took home US$270,000 of the US$750,000 prize pool, split between the players and the organisation.
Who did Team Spirit beat to reach the grand final? Spirit beat PARIVISION 2-1 in the lower-bracket final after losing 2-0 to Yandex in the upper-bracket final.
Sources: Field Level Media, GosuGamers, Dot Esports