PARI Universe: Team Spirit eliminate PARIVISION and Liquid in one day as Yandex meet GamerLegion

Team Spirit kept their PARI Universe Dota 2 title hopes alive on Friday, 30 October, with two lower bracket wins in one day. They beat PARIVISION 2-1 and then Team Liquid 2-1 to guarantee a top-three finish. Today (Saturday), Team Yandex play GamerLegion in the upper bracket final. Spirit then face the loser of that series in the lower bracket final for a place in Sunday's best-of-five grand final. The US$250,000 event's playoffs started this week. Our earlier coverage ended with OG's upset of Spirit on day one, so this report covers the results since then.

Upper bracket semi-finals: Yandex and GamerLegion advance

On Thursday, 29 October, Team Yandex beat PARIVISION 2-1. Field Level Media reports that Yandex won a 72-minute opener, PARIVISION levelled in just 16 minutes, and Yandex won the 42-minute decider. Ammar "ATF" Al-Assaf finished the series 27-14-24 for Yandex. PARIVISION's Alan "Satanic" Gallyamov put up 35-12-29 in the losing effort.

GamerLegion had no such trouble against OG and won 2-0 in 38 and 43 minutes. Francis "RCY" Fundemera was the key player with a 20-4-24 line. In the lower bracket that day, Team Liquid beat Astra Invicta 2-0 and Spirit beat LEGION 2-0, which eliminated Astra Invicta and LEGION.

Spirit's Friday double

Hotspawn reports that PARIVISION took the first game of the lower bracket quarter-final. Spirit replied with Illya "Yatoro" Mulyarchuk going 14/0/13 on Weaver, then won the decider after PARIVISION gave away a mid-game lead.

Liquid knocked out OG 2-0 in the other quarter-final. The first game went past the hour mark, and the second lasted about 37 minutes. Liquid were using Timado as a stand-in because miCKe was unavailable for health reasons, according to Hotspawn.

The lower bracket semi-final against Spirit was dramatic. Spirit won Game 1 comfortably. In Game 2 they built a net worth lead of around 29,000 but were wiped out without buybacks, and Liquid took the throne. Spirit then won the decider in 36 minutes to end Liquid's run.

Who is still in

Three teams remain: Team Yandex, GamerLegion and Team Spirit. Liquid finished fourth. Yandex vs GamerLegion sends one team straight to the grand final. The loser gets a second chance against Spirit in the lower bracket final.

Field Level Media lists the prize money as US$125,000 for the champions, US$50,000 for second and US$30,000 for third. PARIVISION and OG finished in 5th-6th place. Astra Invicta and LEGION finished 7th-8th, and 1w Team and BetBoom Team left without prize money.

Schedule in Malaysia time

Hawk.live lists the following start times:

• Saturday, 31 October, 9pm MYT (13:00 UTC): Upper bracket final, Team Yandex vs GamerLegion (best-of-three)
• Sunday, 1 November, 1am MYT (17:00 UTC): Lower bracket final, Team Spirit vs upper final loser (best-of-three)
• Sunday, 1 November, 9pm MYT (13:00 UTC): Grand final (best-of-five)

Start times can move if earlier series run long, so check before tuning in.

Key takeaways

• Team Spirit beat PARIVISION 2-1 and Team Liquid 2-1 on 30 October and are guaranteed at least third place.
• Yatoro went 14/0/13 on Weaver in the comeback against PARIVISION.
• Team Yandex and GamerLegion meet in the upper bracket final at 9pm MYT tonight.
• Liquid played with Timado as a stand-in for miCKe, who was unavailable for health reasons.
• The best-of-five grand final is on Sunday at 9pm MYT, and the champions receive US$125,000.

FAQ

Q: Who is in the PARI Universe upper bracket final? A: Team Yandex and GamerLegion. Yandex beat PARIVISION 2-1 and GamerLegion beat OG 2-0 in Thursday's semi-finals.

Q: Can Team Spirit still win PARI Universe? A: Yes. Spirit play the loser of Yandex vs GamerLegion in the lower bracket final early on Sunday, Malaysia time. The winner of that series reaches the grand final.

Q: When is the PARI Universe grand final in Malaysia? A: Sunday, 1 November, at 13:00 UTC, which is 9pm MYT, according to Hawk.live. It is a best-of-five.

Sources: Hotspawn, Field Level Media, Hawk.live