Team Yandex stop the magic, defeating LGD in BLAST Slam VII finals

Michael Hassall Published 07/06/2026

Team Yandex have defeated LGD Gaming in the grand finals of BLAST Slam VII in a dramatic 3-1 series that saw both teams pushed to the limit, but ultimately Yandex come out on top.

Concluding the last major tournament before teams head to the Esports World Cup and The International 2026 next month and in August, Yandex were able to counter the momentum of LGD that had brought them into the final, ending the series with only one small hiccup in game three

Team Yandex defeat LGD to secure victory at BLAST Slam VII

Coming into the matchup Yandex were clearly the favorites, but the underdog story of LGD Gaming, who are just weeks out from being dropped by Heroic and picked up by their new Chinese ownerships, was hard to ignore. LGD had clawed their way through the lower bracket, defeating a BetBoom Team squad that’s struggled in the latter half of tournaments this year. Headed into the grand finals against Yandex, fans were clearly behind LGD, but clearer heads would have favored the consistency and adaptability of Yandex.

LGD made a remarkable run, but ultimately fell short in the finals. Image Credit: BLAST.

This immediately was case in Game One, where LGD struggled against the map dominance of Alimzhan “watson” Islambekov’s Nature’s Prophet. This was also helped by some brutally play by Martin “Saksa” Sazdov, whose KotL looked more like carry than some of his cores.

Second game didn’t fair much better for LGD who just couldn’t get Yuma “Yuma” Langlet going on a flexed Shadow Fiend pick. In fact, LGD’s entire draft in Game Two seemed reactive, trying to find counters for Yandex’s lanes.

Game Three would be make or break for LGD, and finally they found something to latch onto: Santiago “TaiLung” Agüero Gustavo’s Storm Spirit. With his team stretching the game into an hour-long farm-fest,TaiLung was finally able to create some magic with his SS and secure what would be LGD’s only victory of the series.

Ultimately, though, Saksa and Yandex would put an exclamation point on their victory with Game Four. A 30-minute stomp, with Saksa’s NP support providing a flex pick that confounded LGD’s drafting and robbed them of almost all their comfort picks with Storm Spirit and Shadow Fiend picked up.

Yandex lift the BLAST Slam VII trophy and take home the $300,000 in player prize money, and $100,000 in team earnings. LGD for second place received $150,000 in prize money and $45,000 for the team.

For Yandex and LGD, the next stop is the Esports World Cup in Paris, and then TI, for Yandex at least. LGD will have to battle through SA’s qualifiers to secure their spot in Shanghai later this year.

Featured Image Credit: BLAST.

Michael Hassall

About Michael Hassall

Michael is a eight-year veteran of the games writing space, but has being playing them for as long as he can remember. With bylines across the internet, he’s used his expertise to cover esports, prediction markets, mainstream gaming, streamers, and more besides.

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