LGD Gaming and 1W Team complete BLAST Slam VIII playoff field

LGD Gaming and 1W Team claimed the final two places in the BLAST Slam VIII playoffs after winning their Last Chance series 2-1. Their victories eliminated GamerLegion and OG and completed the six-team bracket for the playoffs at BLAST Arena Studios in Malta from 8 to 11 October.

Both qualifiers lost their opening games before recovering. LGD will face Team Yandex in the upper-bracket quarterfinals, while 1W will meet Aurora Gaming.

Last Chance comebacks

GamerLegion took a commanding start against LGD, winning the first game 40-10 shortly before the hour mark. Yuma recorded 10 kills and 11 assists, while RCY added 10 kills and 22 assists.

LGD responded with a 28-1 victory in 35 minutes in game two. SumaiL led the team with eight kills and Wits had seven, forcing a deciding game after GamerLegion’s dominant opener.

The decider remained close until a late teamfight turned the series in LGD’s favour. LGD closed out the 45-minute game, with Wits recording 11 kills and nine assists on Nature’s Prophet.

OG also struck first in its series, beating 1W 30-20 in 43 minutes. OneJey finished with nine kills and 13 assists, but 1W levelled the contest with a 24-minute game-two win in which Pure and bzm each recorded 10 kills.

1W settled the contest in game three, winning 27-4 in 28 minutes, with 33 contributing 12 kills and 15 assists to secure the last playoff berth. OG’s elimination means Topson missed the playoffs; the match account did not detail his individual performance.

Six-team bracket confirmed

The Last Chance stage featured the four Group Stage second seeds competing for two remaining playoff places. Winners moved into the upper-bracket quarterfinals, while the losing teams exited the tournament.

PARIVISION and Team Spirit had already secured upper-bracket semifinal places by winning their Seeding Matches. They enter the playoffs one round later than LGD, 1W, Team Yandex and Aurora Gaming.

Malta playoffs up next

Team Yandex against LGD and Aurora Gaming against 1W are the opening upper-bracket quarterfinals. PARIVISION will then face the winner of Yandex versus LGD, while Team Spirit will play the winner of Aurora versus 1W.

The playoffs use a double-elimination format. Matches are best-of-threes, apart from the best-of-five grand final, so the four quarterfinalists will still have a route forward if they lose their opening playoff series.