Team Yandex defeated Team Spirit 3-1 in the best-of-five Grand Final to win BLAST Slam VIII.
The tournament ran September 29–October 11, 2026, with an online group stage followed by a LAN playoff stage at BLAST Arena Studios in Malta.
Prize pool was $750,000 ($270,000 to the champion).
This was the first major of the 2026–2027 season. Streams were on official BLAST channels.
Final result
Grand Final (October 11): Team Yandex 3-1 Team Spirit
- Game 1 (~40 min): Spirit won (48-19 kill lead). Yatoro’s Ursa was the standout.
- Game 2 (~52 min): Yandex won. ATF’s Timbersaw helped convert a key mid-game teamfight.
- Game 3 (~48 min): Yandex won. Watson had a clean 14/0/14 performance on Nature’s Prophet.
- Game 4 (~56 min): Yandex closed it out (51-37 kill lead). Watson finished 19/5/14; ATF added 13 kills and 22 assists.
Path to the title
Yandex and Spirit met three times. Spirit beat Yandex 2-1 in the seeding stage (Yandex’s only series loss of the event).
Yandex then swept Spirit 2-0 in the Upper Bracket Final to reach the Grand Final.
Spirit fought through the lower bracket, reverse-sweeping PARIVISION 2-1 in the Lower Final to earn the rematch.
Yandex also beat PARIVISION earlier in the upper bracket.
Final standings & prizes
1st — Team Yandex: $270,000
2nd — Team Spirit: $135,000
3rd — PARIVISION: $95,000
4th — Aurora Gaming: $65,000
5th–6th — 1w Team & LGD Gaming: ~$35,500 each
7th–8th — GamerLegion & OG: $20,000 each Lower placements continued down the field of 16 teams.
(Prize money is split between player shares and team/organization earnings.)
Format
16 teams.
Online GSL-style groups (four groups) fed seeding matches and a last-chance stage.
The top six advanced to a double-elimination LAN playoff (October 8–11).
Most series were best-of-three; the Grand Final was best-of-five.
Context
Yandex entered as the early-season frontrunner after also winning PGL Wallachia Season 9.
The roster features Watson (carry), ATF (offlane), CHIRA_JUNIOR, Malady, and Saksa.
Spirit entered as the reigning The International champions (with Yatoro, Larl, rue, Batyuk, and not me).
Yandex’s win gives them the first two major titles of the 2026–2027 season and marks their second BLAST Slam trophy.
