Yandex to repeat?: BLAST SLAM VIII preview, predictions, and more

Michael Hassall Published 28/09/2026

If you can believe it, we’re already on the eighth edition of BLAST SLAM, as BLAST SLAM VIII kicks off tomorrow (Sep. 29) pitting 16 of the world’s best Dota 2 teams against each other in what promises to be the first big challenge of this young season.

Let’s face it: At PGL Wallachia, we were missing a lot of the heavy hitters. No TI15 champs, no PARIVISION, not BetBoom, and no Team Liquid. All those teams and more are back for BLAST SLAM VIII, albeit with some adjusted rosters and a few stand-ins. With that in mind lets dive into the preview, and find out about some of these teams and who’s the favorites heading into this event. Lets see what the our forecasts are and what the prediction markets are saying.

BLAST SLAM VIII Format

BLAST SLAM VIII will run from Sep. 29 until Oct. 11, with the group stage taking up the first four days of that period. With the 16 teams divided into 4 groups, the top four teams will be sent to a set of seeding matches for the playoffs, while the second place teams will head to the Last Chance matches.

Only six teams are set to make the playoffs, a double elimination bracket. The winners will take home $270,000 of prize money, $200,000 for the players, and $70,000 for the team, there’s money all the way to last place, with a total prize pool of $750,000.

Last chance to see! this is the final offline BLAST SLAM event. Image Credit: BLAST

Additionally, this is the final BLAST SLAM that will feature an offline LAN portion for the event. Organizer BLAST announced the event would be going fully online from BLAST SLAM 9 onwards.

BLAST SLAM VIII Preview

As mentioned the biggest thing heading into this event will be the return of teams like PARIVISION and Team Spirit. The TI15 finalists and champion have been missing in action since the end of the 2025/2026 season, likely taking a well-earned break. The roster for PARIVISiON is unchanged from its TI1 incarnation, albeit with the added wrinkle that Alan “Satanic” Gallyamov is no longer “on-loan” as he has been for several years, and is now a full member.

Team Spirit on the other hand is playing without Magomed “Collapse” Khalilov or Yaroslav “Miposhka” Naidenov and is instead playing some younger talent. Given Team Spirit’s track record with incredible development of teams, it’s hard to not expect great things from this team.

Team Yandex are another team to watch, as they’re fresh off a win at PGL Wallachia. The team looks unstoppable in its current form, although the two teams mentioned above could have a good shot.

And last but not least, there’s Team Liquid and BetBoom. BetBoom is trying out a new roster, with some shuffling, which could see it lose a step, especially with Vitalie “Save-” Melnic’s move to the mid lane. Team Liquid has a similar shuffle as legendary mid laner Nisha takes a break, Ace retires and Yeik “MidOne” Nai Zheng and Adrián “Wisper” Dobles step into their roles. Liquid is a very vibe-y team and it remains to be seen if these players gel with their teammates.

Image Credit: BLAST

Our picks and predictions for BLAST SLAM VIII group stage

With that all said, here’s our picks and predictions for BLAST SLAM VIII.

Outright winner

Our pick for outright winner? PARIVISION. It seems crazy to predict this team’s victory after a long break and a loss in the TI15 finals, but this is a team with a chip on its shoulder. Satanic will have everything to prove and nothing holding him back.

If you’re not sold on PVISION, then our backup would be Team Yandex. They’re hot off a win at PGL Wallachia, and they’re looking dangerous.

Group Stage featured matches

Level UP vs. PARVISION

We’re sorry Level UP but you drew the worst team you possibly could for your first matchup. This is a team, as we’ve mentioned above, with a lot to prove. And that’s before you even look at roster comparisons and skill levels. This is a PARIVISION shoe-in.

Team Spirit vs Team Nemesis

We love this Team Nemesis squad, everything from the lineup to the jerseys, but we can’t pick them over TI champs Team Spirit even with some unknowns in there. This is going to be closer than expected, and could provide an upset, but we’re still picking Team Spirit.

Team Yandex vs. MOUZ

Last but not least, MOUZ will face the wrath of Team Yandex as ATF, Saksa, and the team are hot off their last win. This is going to be an ugly game if we had to guess, and Yandex might even lose a series trying something strange. But we’re still going Yandex as the top pick for this win.

Stick with Win.gg for more BLAST SLAM VIII coverage!

Featured Image Credit: BLAST

Michael Hassall

About Michael Hassall

Michael is an eight-year veteran of games writing and has been playing games for as long as he can remember. With bylines across the internet, he has used his expertise to cover esports, prediction markets, mainstream gaming, streamers and more.

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