BLAST SLAM VIII: 16 teams to compete for $750,000

The BLAST tournament will be held online and on-site, with BLAST Arena Studios in Malta listed as the venue. According to Liquipedia, the group stage starts on September 29 and the playoffs end on October 11.

How teams advance from the groups to the playoffs

From September 29 to October 2, the teams will compete in four groups of four. Each group uses a GSL format: after the opening matches, teams continue in separate winners' and losers' matches. All group-stage series are Bo3. The first-place team in each group advances to the seeding matches, while the second-place team enters the last-chance stage. The remaining teams are eliminated.

The seeding matches and last-chance stage take place on October 3; all series are Bo3. Winners of the seeding matches advance straight to the semifinals, while the losing teams go to the quarterfinals. Winners of the last-chance matches also advance to the quarterfinals; the losing teams are eliminated. The playoffs run from October 8 to 11 in a double-elimination format. All playoff matches except the grand final are Bo3; the grand final is Bo5.

Who is playing at BLAST SLAM VIII

PARIVISION, Team Spirit, Team Yandex, Team Liquid, Aurora Gaming, BetBoom Team, 1w Team, LGD Gaming, Xtreme Gaming, OG, GamerLegion and MOUZ received invites. The remaining four spots went to teams that qualified through regional qualifiers. Player cards list players by their handles, in order from position one to five.

How the teams have performed heading into the tournament

The field includes The International 2026 champions Team Spirit and reigning BLAST SLAM champions Team Yandex, who won BLAST SLAM VII on June 7. In 2026, Team Yandex also won PGL Wallachia Season 7 and reached the final of ESL One Birmingham 2026. LGD Gaming were the runners-up at BLAST SLAM VII.

PARIVISION won DreamLeague Season 29, beating Aurora Gaming in the final. That was one of three finals Aurora Gaming reached in 2026: the team also made the final series at PGL Wallachia Season 8 and DreamLeague Season 28. BetBoom Team won PGL Wallachia Season 8.

In 2026, Team Liquid won BLAST SLAM VI and 1win Essence II, and reached the final of PGL Wallachia Season 7. Natus Vincere were the runners-up at BLAST SLAM VI. Some teams also have earlier results to their name: MOUZ won PGL Wallachia Season 6 in November 2025, Team Spirit reached the final, and Team Yandex won DreamLeague Season 27 in December 2025.

Opening matches: from PARIVISION vs. Level UP to Team Liquid vs. Yakult Brothers

The opening matches are split across four groups. Match start times are listed in CEST.

Playoff bracket

Upper bracket

QuarterfinalsSemifinalsFinalGrand final

Team Yandex2LGD Gaming1

PARIVISION1Team Yandex2

Aurora Gaming21w Team0

Team Spirit2Aurora Gaming1

Team Yandex2Team Spirit0

Team Yandex3Team Spirit1

Lower bracket

QuarterfinalsSemifinalsFinal

PARIVISION21w Team1

Aurora Gaming2LGD Gaming0

PARIVISION2Aurora Gaming0

Team Spirit2PARIVISION1

Group stage

Group A

	Team	Series	Maps
1	PARIVISION	2-0	4-0
2	LGD Gaming	2-1	4-4
3	Xtreme Gaming	1-2	4-4
4	Level UP	0-2	0-4

Group B

	Team	Series	Maps
1	Team Spirit	2-0	4-1
2	1w Team	2-1	4-3
3	Team Nemesis	1-2	3-5
4	Natus Vincere	0-2	2-4

Group C

	Team	Series	Maps
1	Team Yandex	2-0	4-0
2	OG	2-1	5-3
3	BetBoom Team	1-2	3-5
4	MOUZ	0-2	0-4

Group D

	Team	Series	Maps
1	Aurora Gaming	2-0	4-1
2	GamerLegion	2-1	4-2
3	Team Liquid	1-2	3-5
4	Yakult Brothers	0-2	1-4

How the $750,000 prize pool is split

Every team will receive prize money, including those that do not advance from the groups. The winner will receive $270,000 and the runner-up $135,000. Amounts for placement ranges are listed per team.

Who will be on the English- and Russian-language broadcasts