NAVI reach the final for the first time in six years, results of the second day of the Blast Slam VI playoffs
The second day of the playoffs Blast Slam VI has ended. Natus Vincere sensationally advanced to the grand final, defeating Team Yandex 3-2, while OG, on the contrary, were swept 0-3 by Team Liquid, giving them a chance to contend for the trophy.
Blast Slam VI playoff bracket:
One of the key events of the series OG vs Team Liquid was the third map, where Team Liquid managed to come back from a 35,000 gold deficit. And even though the team sometimes made strange decisions such as miCKe teleporting into the throne and trading half of the throne’s HP for a rapier and a solid core kill, tOfu picking up Aegis of immortal on Largo, and a solo feed from Nisha while pushing top, the team still managed to close it out and secure the third map for themselves. Otherwise, the loss could have been fatal: in a BO5, even experienced teams risk a very dangerous drop in morale.
Nevertheless, OG finished their run in Malta in 3rd–4th place, earning $80,000, which is a decent result for them.
No less fierce was the clash between the two CIS teams. The bookmakers believed in a victory for Team Yandex, who took second place at the previous Blast Slam V. All the more so because the first map ended in 30 minutes in their favor. However, Natus Vincere are not used to giving up. We would especially like to highlight the excellent performances from gotthejuice and Niku. Their manager, Zhanna Batkovna, commented on the victory as follows: «On August 2, 2022, we announced that we had signed the guys — today, on February 15, 2026, the boys have reached the grand final of a tier-1 tournament. I’m sitting here on the verge of tears from happiness, seeing the project look exactly like this and knowing the entire distance we’ve covered. It rarely happens to me, but I’m super happy — for the guys, for the organization, for what we’ve achieved».
Blast Slam VI is taking place from February 13 to 15 in LAN format in Malta. Within the tournament, 12 teams are competing for a prize pool of $1,000,000.