BLAST Slam VIII Upper-Bracket Quarterfinals: Yandex vs LGD

Team Yandex swept MOUZ 2-0 in their opening match to secure a direct playoff path. LGD Gaming qualified for the BLAST Slam VIII playoffs with a 2-1 Last Chance victory over GamerLegion. These results set up a decisive upper-bracket quarterfinal between the two teams.

Team Yandex will face LGD Gaming in the upper-bracket quarterfinals. The winner advances to face PARIVISION in the upper-bracket semifinals. Team Spirit, having won their Seeding Match, awaits the winner of the other quarterfinal between Aurora and 1W.

How both teams reached this stage

Yandex qualified as a Group Stage first-place finisher. All group stage first-place finishers were guaranteed playoff spots but had to play seeding matches for Upper Bracket Semi-Final placement. Yandex also recently won the PGL Wallachia Season 9 championship.

LGD Gaming took a different route. The second-place team from each group advanced to the Last Chance Stage. LGD advanced through this stage after finishing second in their group. They secured their playoff spot with a 2-1 Last Chance victory over GamerLegion. GosuGamers noted that "both qualifiers had to recover after losing the opening game of their series."

Last Chance stage outcomes and bracket implications

The Last Chance stage featured the four Group Stage second seeds. Winners of the Last Chance stage advanced to the upper-bracket quarterfinals. Losers were eliminated. This stage determined both remaining contenders and their first playoff opponents.

The six-team bracket is now set. The playoff stage uses a double-elimination format. All matches are best-of-three series except for the best-of-five grand final.

Semifinal matchups locked in

The upper-bracket semifinal pairings are now confirmed. PARIVISION will play the winner of the Yandex versus LGD Gaming series. Team Spirit will face the winner of the Aurora versus 1W series.

PARIVISION had previously swept LGD Gaming 2-0 to secure the Group A top seed. The sixteen tournament participants were divided into four groups of four teams each. For the winner of the first series in each group, they were given an additional opportunity to secure first place and advance to the Seeding Matches.

The winner of the Yandex versus LGD series will advance to face PARIVISION in the upper-bracket semifinals.