BLAST Slam VIII: MidOne's Team Liquid Win Their Opener as Spirit and PARIVISION Top Their Groups

The first top-tier Dota 2 event since The International 2026 has had a busy start. After two days of the BLAST Slam VIII group stage, two groups already have winners, one big name is out, and Malaysia's Yeik Nai "MidOne" Zheng has won his first series as Team Liquid's stand-in midlaner.

MidOne's Liquid start with a win

Liquid came to BLAST Slam VIII with a new-look lineup. Regular midlaner Nisha is taking a break, so MidOne is filling in. South American offlaner Wisper has also replaced Ace in position 3. GosuGamers pointed out that this broke up a partnership, since Ace and tOfu had laned together for five years.

The new lineup won its debut 2-1 against Yakult Brothers in Group D on 29 September, in games of 36, 31 and 37 minutes. Hotspawn noted an unusual mid Chaos Knight pick in Game 2.

That win puts Liquid in the Group D winners' match against Aurora Gaming. Aurora swept GamerLegion 2-0 with Mikoto back in the side and new carry Skiter, who joined from Team Falcons to replace Nightfall. The winner goes to the seeding matches. The loser gets one more chance in the group's lower-bracket final on 2 October.

Spirit and PARIVISION finish their groups unbeaten

TI 2026 champions Team Spirit are playing with a reshuffled roster while Collapse and coach Miposhka take breaks. They dropped the first game of their opener to Team Nemesis but came back to win 2-1. On 30 September they beat 1w Team 2-0 to win Group B. Sport-Express reported the scores as 41-28 in 42 minutes and 36-9 in just 21 minutes.

In Group A, PARIVISION swept Level UP and then beat LGD Gaming 2-0 on 30 September to win the group. LGD, who had beaten Xtreme Gaming 2-1 on the opening day, now have to come through the lower bracket.

Both group winners go straight to the seeding matches on 3 October.

NAVI out, OG lose a marathon

Natus Vincere are the first big name to go out. They lost 2-1 to 1w Team on day one, then lost 2-1 again to Team Nemesis in the Group B elimination match on 30 September. That leaves them in 13th–16th place.

In Group C, which started on 30 September, PGL Wallachia Season 9 winners Team Yandex beat MOUZ 2-0. BetBoom Team edged OG 2-1. This was OG's first series with Topson back, and the deciding game ran past 80 minutes. OG pushed it all the way to mega creeps and still lost it.

On 1 October, Yandex face BetBoom in the Group C winners' match, and MOUZ play OG in an elimination match.

The road to Malta

The prize pool is US$750,000. The champions take US$270,000, made up of US$200,000 for the players and US$70,000 for the team. Six teams reach the double-elimination playoffs in Malta, and the grand final is best-of-five.

For Malaysian Dota fans, the next few days will show whether MidOne can steer Liquid's new lineup past Aurora and on to Malta.

Key takeaways

• Team Liquid, with Malaysian stand-in MidOne, beat Yakult Brothers 2-1 in their opener and face Aurora in the Group D winners' match.
• Team Spirit and PARIVISION won Groups B and A without losing a series.
• NAVI were knocked out after 2-1 defeats to 1w Team and Team Nemesis.
• The playoffs are in Malta from 8 to 11 October, with US$750,000 on offer.

FAQ

Why is MidOne playing for Team Liquid? Liquid's regular midlaner, Nisha, is taking a break, so MidOne is filling in as a stand-in for this event.

How do teams reach the playoffs? Group winners go to the seeding matches. Second-placed teams drop into a Last Chance round. Six teams make the double-elimination playoffs in Malta.

How much does the winner get? US$270,000 of the US$750,000 prize pool.

Sources: Dot Esports, Hotspawn, GosuGamers, Field Level Media, Sport-Express, Esports.ru, Sportarena, Offstage, BLAST.tv, Hawk Live