BLAST SLAM VIII

My take

We have Satanic vs. Skiter right here. We have a hard-carry Dota vs. semi-carry Dota. Aurora has a chance in these late-game skirmishes, but there is no way PV will let them get there. I'm going with PV 2-0.

My take

The match of the tournament so far. Finally we have a team to challenge Team Yandex. From what I can see, this is a 50/50 match-up, but I will go with Yandex here, because I believe that their composure will not let Yatoro run freely on the map.

My take

We have had the same derby three times in the last 2 weeks. I will go AGAIN with LGD, because Xm is missing, and I also believe that LGD kind have an edge against Xtreme in these 5v5 skirmishes.

✓ Aftermath

Wow, it's been a while since I've seen Suma1L on Storm Spirit. LGD.Gaming took that last game just purely because of OP Lancer.

My take

Nemesis for the win. Hear me out, I believe that Nemesis is a true Tier 1 right now (and not only that, they beat NAVI yesterday). If you remember, in PGL Wallachia they made it to the playoffs with 2 stand-ins. I believe that Nemesis will win this match because 1Win can't play against heavy farming teams.

✗ Aftermath

Experience, experience, and again experience. I believe that Nemesis has a chance to break through, but 1Win just showed why they won multiple tournaments. I would even say that Pure carried the team in both maps, but that's a detail.

My take

If Aurora won against Liquid and GL, it's safe to say that Liquid has an edge against GL because of the early pressure. But if it goes to late-game, I can see GamerLegion taking a map from Team Liquid. In the end, I'm going with Liquid to win.

✗ Aftermath

There is one hero that you need to ban against GamerLegion (which is Meepo), and Liquid didn't do that. Anyway, it was not only that; let's just hope Malr1ne can carry this team somewhere, because with MidOne they don't have any chances in a tier 1 tournament.

My take

I'm going to go again with OG, for the simple fact that BB BARELY won their first BO3 encounter (I would say that they didn't even win that, but OG threw the game). I believe that this patch and this meta favor heavy farm teams, which BB simply isn't without gpk.

My take

I was expecting Save to be a more aggressive midlaner, but it seems that he is kind of AFK. I believe that Yandex will win without any issues.

✓ Aftermath

There are levels to this game. And even if BetBoom had the lead in map 2, they instantly made 2 big mistakes and then completely lost the plot. In the end, I am starting to believe that Yandex is THE BEST team in this tournament.

My take

I will pick OG here just because they are better in the late-game scenarios (obviously, except for the last game throw). In the end, I don't think MOUZ can push in the first 25 minutes, and they will lose in the late game.

✓ Aftermath

Yep, MOUZ is going home. I still see OG as somewhat unstable, but they are better in farming.

My take

I just can't go with GamerLegion; to me they can't farm, they can't fight, and they always try to rely on that mid-game tempo (if they are ahead); if not, they just stay on the map and do absolutely nothing. I believe that Emo and the gang will dismantle GamerLegion in this BO3.

✗ Aftermath

Hello, it's me again… Jesus Christ…. What can I say? GG GL.

My take

Battle of the offlaners. Now we will know for sure who is carrying their team more, Wisper or ws? Somehow, I believe that Liquid is kind of countering Aurora's playstyle, because they play a lot of Yolo Dota and will gank skiter at least 10 times in the first 15 minutes. I will go with Liquid on this one.

✗ Aftermath

That's what you get when the only playstyle is to get into these dogfights. And to my surprise, Skiter has more of a dog in him than the whole Liquid squad. You can blame OP Ursa as much as you want; it was Liquid's mistake. I would even say it was tOfu's mistake in buying that Aghanim's Scepter on Hoodwink.

My take

We saw this match in Wallachia. Actually, MOUZ and NAVI were the only ones who took a map from Yandex; in the rest, they were ruthless. I will say it again, Yandex is probably the strongest team of the season. I'm going with Yandex to win.

✓ Aftermath

So? It looks like Yandex is in the same form as they were in the PGL Wallachia Season 9. I don't think anybody beats them soon.

My take

El fiasco: xD We have Save- vs. Topson on mid. I don't know; I kind of lean towards OG (even though you all hate this new squad). I think that Topson can make a lot of space for Natsumi to farm and turn the games around. Yes, sure, BB is also really strong (even without Gpk), but I will risk it here and go with OG.

✗ Aftermath

AHHAHAHHAHA, what a meme. Man, how can you throw this? Natsumi didn't want to buy back, and BB just went full 5-man and destroyed the throne through the backdoor. It's unbelievable.

My take

I liked the way Team Spirit played (even though they lost a map to Nemesis). I don't trust the 1Win team to handle this Spirit 5-man execution, because, simply put, → Spirit NEVER tilts.

✓ Aftermath

Hail Mary was picked by 1Win (Doom carry), but it didn't help them at all. Honestly, both maps looked one-sided.

My take

I am pretty sure that NAVI is tilted after that loss to 1Win. Because this match is a clear coin toss, and Nemesis can win this BO3. I will go with them, upset NAVI, and win the match. I believe that JackKy is really good, and they can handle this NAVI pressure.

✓ Aftermath

Yeah, I'm just too good at predicting Dota 2 matches, I swear to God. What did Papa Greg tell you? Did you think I was sold on NAVI in second place at Wallachia? And now they are going home.

My take

I will go with PARI on this one, but I really want to see if LGD is capable of turning this BO3 into a dogfight. More importantly, I want to see if PV has that dawg in them and can match this late-game pace. But the early to mid-game should be PV all the way.

✓ Aftermath

I had this scenario in my mind: if LGD can turn this into a slugfest, they can win, but unfortunately it didn't happen. When it comes to structured Dota, it looks like Parivision is unmatched.

My take

In any case, I would go with Xtreme, but in this scenario, this is a 100% win for Ame and the boys. Something happened with LevelUp, because I noticed how they started to lose the matches even in tier 2 tournaments, left and right.

✓ Aftermath

LevelUp needs to change something; this kind of Dota doesn't work in a tier 1 tournament. And I'm going to double down on the fact that people need to ban the MK for Ame.

My take

PARI is still the #1 team on paper, one game away from the TI title, has already won EWC, and is just pure strength. The only real question is hunger after that painful GF loss. Level UP is a solid qualifier side that can beat Tier-2 consistently, but they look too slow and predictable against actual Tier-1 pressure. PARI 2-0.

✓ Aftermath

2 quick games by PV—it's not like it was unexpected or something like that. But to me, LevelUp kind of fell off since their run at the EWC. I feel like they could do more. I mean, PV even picked an Anti-Mage carry and didn't die a single time.

My take

Spirit is still the TI champions, but this is the first real test without Collapse (Batyuk in, Illidan coaching). They’re still one of the best late-game teams in the world with Yatoro. Nemesis is dangerous—they showed zero fear at Wallachia even with stand-ins and can turn any game into complete chaos with JaCkky. But Spirit’s structure and experience should still be enough in a BO3.

✓ Aftermath

I didn't expect this to go down like this. Nemesis turned this BO3 into a dogfight. And mind you, for every single hater out there who said that Nemesis is barely Tier 2, they made Spirit sweat in this Bo3.

My take

Xtreme is simply solid right now—the best Chinese roster, Ame in monster mode, XinQ/zeal synergy real, and BoBoKa perfect on pos 5. They already destroyed LGD once at Wallachia. But LGD got their payback and dismissed them in the upper bracket. But I also heard some rumors that Xm will not play for Xtreme and MooN might be the stand-in. I'm going with LGD on this one.

✓ Aftermath

Even without Xm, Xtreme still looks solid. The fact that LGD gave Ame that Monkey King in map 2 was a crucial mistake. This dude is probably one of the best MK players in the world. And yeah, I could feel the pain of Davai Lama on that Necrophos.

My take

NAVI is my dark horse for a reason. Fearless early-game skirmishes, Niku + gotthejuice not scared of any tag, and they just finished silver at Wallachia. 1win remains the most inconsistent team on the planet—throwing is embedded in the roster. Even if Pure is finally back, it won’t magically fix the horrible fight decisions. NAVI should take this cleanly 2-0 or 2-1.

✗ Aftermath

Game 2 must be embedded in the book of throws somewhere. I swear to God, it's unreal to lose that game, but NAVI made it happen.

My take

This is the debut of the Wisper version. More aggression from the offlane, classic Liquid ceiling, and they’re one of the real title threats on paper. Yakult is the second-best Chinese side here, but Wallachia was rough (1-3 and out). Liquid should control the map better in a Bo3. Liquid 2-0/2-1.

✓ Aftermath

I guess that Chaos Knight mid doesn't work? xD What was that pick for MidOne? Anyway, Liquid looks ok-ish, but they are not unstoppable from my POV. Yes, Wisperis a good fit, but to me they play too much Yolo Dota.

My take

Aurora is still the "ws show.” If Mikoto is back, they become dangerous. GamerLegion is the classic boom-or-bust team—RCY can go nuclear, but they still choke high ground and throw 15k leads. Against Aurora’s individual quality, I lean toward Aurora, but this is a pure coinflip series.

✓ Aftermath

Timado being replaced with Yuma is a downgrade from my POV. I mean, at least Timado farms A LOT. But Yuma is passive, and he feeds. He is a semi-carry like Skiter, so he isn't a good fit if you look into it.