BLAST Slam VIII: Yandex Beats Spirit to Open the Dota 2 Season With Back-to-Back Titles

Yandex Takes BLAST Slam VIII

Team Yandex is the Dota 2 team to beat right now, and it is not particularly close. At BLAST Slam VIII in Malta, Yandex beat Team Spirit in the grand final to claim $270,000 and its second BLAST title, following up its PGL Wallachia Season 9 win in late September with back-to-back major tournament victories. BLAST Slam VIII was the second big trophy of the 2026-2027 competitive season, and Yandex has now won both of them.

Spirit, the reigning The International champions, took home $135,000 as runners-up. It was a strong run for a team playing its first event with a changed roster, but the final made the gap clear. Yandex did not just win the tournament; it won the matchup that defined it.

How the Final Played Out

The grand final was the third meeting between the two teams at BLAST Slam VIII, and the story flipped across those three games. Spirit won the earlier seeding match, which put them in a strong position and suggested the final might go their way. Yandex answered by sweeping the next encounter to become the first team through to the final, then closed out the title in the decider.

Spirit's road to the final went through the lower bracket, where they recovered from a deficit against PARIVISION in the lower-bracket final to earn their shot at the trophy. That kind of comeback run usually builds momentum, and Spirit arrived in the final battle-tested. It was not enough. Yandex had their number by then, and the final showed a team that had figured out the matchup while Spirit was still adjusting to its new lineup.

Why BLAST Slam VIII Matters

Back-to-back titles this early in the season are a statement. Winning one tournament can be a hot streak. Winning two in a row, against the field that showed up in Malta and at Wallachia, means the team is operating on a different level. Yandex opened the 2026-2027 season by winning everything available to win, and every other top team now has to game-plan specifically for them.

The roster context makes it more interesting. The post-TI 2026 shuffle reshaped several top teams, and Yandex's run came after the arrival of ATF, whose signing followed Team Falcons' exit from the scene. That move gave Yandex a core that has now delivered consecutive titles, and it is the kind of signing that looks smarter with every trophy. Spirit, meanwhile, are integrating a changed roster while defending a TI title, which is one of the hardest things to do in Dota. Their second-place finish is respectable. It is also a reminder that the gap between defending champions and the new best team in the world is real.

The tournament itself continues to grow in stature. BLAST Slam has become a fixture of the Dota calendar, and back-to-back editions producing a repeat champion gives the event a storyline it did not have before. Yandex now owns the BLAST Slam narrative, and the next edition becomes a question of whether anyone can stop them or whether they are building a dynasty.

What Comes Next

Yandex heads into the next major cycle with two titles and the confidence that comes with them. The target on their back is now enormous. Every opponent will study the Spirit series and the Wallachia run for weaknesses, and the first team to crack the Yandex formula gets a career-defining win. For Spirit, the job is integration: turn a new roster into a unit that can beat Yandex in a series that matters, not just in a seeding match.

The early season has already given us a rivalry with a clear shape. Yandex is the team to beat, Spirit is the champion trying to reclaim the top spot, and the rest of the field is chasing both. If the next meeting goes the way of the BLAST Slam VIII final, we are watching the start of a dominant era. If Spirit answers, we have a season-long fight. Either way, Dota's new season started with a bang, and Yandex is the reason. For more on this season's biggest stages, check our LoL Worlds 2026 play-ins preview, our VCT Champions Shanghai grand final preview, and our MPL ID Season 18 playoffs preview.