BLAST Slam VIII playoff field complete: LGD and 1W bring Last Chance experience into the bracket

Six teams compete for the BLAST Slam VIII title

BLAST Slam VIII now has its full playoff field in place. LGD Gaming and 1W Team secured the two remaining spots via the Last Chance phase and join PARIVISION, Team Spirit, Team Yandex, and Aurora Gaming in the complete field.

The two Last Chance teams both start in the upper bracket quarterfinals: LGD Gaming faces Team Yandex, while 1W Team faces Aurora Gaming. This places them one step lower in the bracket than PARIVISION and Team Spirit, who won their seeding matches and thereby advanced directly into the upper bracket semifinals.

The competitive difference is clear. PARIVISION and Team Spirit knew their opponents earlier and avoided the elimination risk of the Last Chance phase. LGD and 1W, by contrast, arrive with fresh match experience from high-pressure series, but with less time to prepare for their playoff opponents.

LGD's path in was marked by a dramatic turnaround: the team lost the first game to GamerLegion decisively, but dominated game two completely and won a close decider in game three to secure a 2-1 victory. 1W followed a nearly identical pattern against OG — losing the opening game before Pure and bzm took control and closed out the series 2-1.

The rest of the bracket is formidable. PARIVISION swept Aurora Gaming 2-0 in the seeding match. Team Spirit won 2-1 over Team Yandex in a reverse sweep — Yandex's first series loss of the season — confirming that the reigning TI champions are a genuine title contender.

The playoff format is double-elimination with best-of-three in all matches except the Grand Final, which is played as a best-of-five. Two sources disagree on the exact dates: one lists October 8–11 as the event window at BLAST Arena Studios in Malta, while another lists October 5–8 as the playoff window. The dates are disputed and should be verified against the tournament's official schedule.

For LGD and 1W, the challenge is to convert Last Chance momentum into deeper playoff runs — but the structural advantage still belongs to the teams that never needed to fight for their spot.