All BLAST Slam 5 group stage match results

The professional Dota 2 scene truly does not rest, because BLAST Slam 5 Chengdu comes right after the PGL Wallachia Season 6 grand finals. Much like BLAST Slam 4 Singapore before it, Slam 5 will feature an online group stage and elimination phase about a week or so before the actual LAN component, which will take place in Chengdu, China this time around.

With that in mind, I’ve got the group stage results and all the happenings right here for all of you!

Day 1 — OG continue their relative excellence while HEROIC slip further and further

Although OG didn’t quite make the podium at PGL Wallachia Season 6, finishing sixth overall there despite only being under their new organization for less than a month thus far is still no mean feat. Now that they have the backing of a big org, the sky should be the limit for this squad in particular — if they can get over their tendency to make questionable decisions in the late game. You know, like when John “Natsumi-” Vargas opted for a Divine Rapier instead of a Butterfly in the deciding game in their upper bracket series versus Team Liquid.

OG Dota raigebait is eternal part 2 😭 pic.twitter.com/7SW0GO2tAV

— BLAST Slam (@BLASTDota) November 25, 2025

Thankfully, they’ve started off well in the group stage at BLAST Slam 5 Chengdu. Granted, they haven’t faced any real tough competition just yet, having only beaten Yakult Brothers and Execration on the first day, but you have to win the games that you’re favored in so that you don’t find yourself in a deep hole before you even get to face the top clubs.

I personally think they won’t have too much trouble making it to the LAN portion of the tournament. The real test will come then, especially in front of the Chinese crowd.

As for HEROIC, they’re coming back down to earth after placing top 4 at the previous Slam. Them losing to Falcons in their second game of the first day was more or less expected given what happened the last time they faced off, but dropping the ball versus the new look Xtreme Gaming is not a particularly good sign.

At this point, I don’t expect them to beat MOUZ on the second day either, but at least they have Team Yandex to look forward to on the same day. The vibes just don’t seem to be vibing over at the HEROIC camp right now, so they could use a win to lift their spirits moving forward.

Day 2 — A bizarre day for Xtreme Gaming, and a torrid one for HEROIC

Okay, I have no idea what the hell is even going on with Xtreme Gaming. They lost to MOUZ and Falcons in their first two games as expected, but then they also dropped the ball versus Execration today. And I mean they dropped the ball, because they called GG in less than 18 minutes of action.

To be precise, they tapped out at 17 minutes and 44 seconds. I don’t fully blame them for giving up so soon knowing how badly they s*** the bed in the laning phase, but come on, at least try to get up to the mid game. Cheng “NothingToSay” Jin Xiang, supposedly their best player, has also been looking downright awful this tournament, and XG’s draft and match preparation both look abysmal right now.

nevermind pic.twitter.com/lmcdAMKSxl

— BLAST Slam (@BLASTDota) November 26, 2025

This is definitely not the kind of return that Xu “fy” Linsen would have wanted, and now the entire team is suffering along with him. They were terrible at PGL Wallachia Season 6, and they’re terrible here at BLAST Slam 5. And considering that China will be hosting this edition of the Slam, they need every bit of representation they can muster at this point.

As for HEROIC, they’re somehow faring even worse than XG are. I was afraid that this would happen after they showed so much promise early in the season, but it’s obvious that the vibes are completely off even compared to the first day of the tournament. Not even Adrián “Wisper” Dobles is performing up to his usual standard here, which is a bad omen for the rest of this squad.

They couldn’t even manage a win against Yandex against my every expectation. There’s still three days left in the group stage, and they’ll at least have the last chance playoffs as a safety net — but this roster does not look like it belongs in a tier 1 event right now.

Day 3 — Yandex catch fire while MOUZ experience an off day

Maybe I should stop underestimating Team Yandex already. Their perfect outing on the third day of the group stage has them in third place in the standings right now, thanks in no small part to the leadership of two-time International champion Martin “Saksa” Sazdov. I mean, it’s just abundantly clear to me now that if you’re a lower-skilled team in need of a floor raiser, you turn to one of the people who once played for Tundra.

I hope this team continues to develop throughout the season, and honestly, throughout this tournament as well. Having yet another Eastern European team to face up against the top clubs right now would be very welcome, especially given the names on this roster — some of which I’m sure would be unfamiliar to those that don’t follow EEU closely.

Not a good day for us in DOTA, but we will bounce back. pic.twitter.com/BzWvEY9ueM

— MOUZ (@mousesports) November 27, 2025

As for MOUZ, it was “you win some, you lose some” for them on day 3. They got manhandled by Team Tidebound to start the day, then lost to Tundra in just 33 and a half minutes to close it out. They fall to joint fourth place with OG as a result with a map score of 4-3, but I’m confident that they’ll bounce back from their off day.

They’re the PGL Wallachia Season 6 champions for a reason, and consistency is a huge part of that. They’ll be facing Execration tomorrow, so that’s pretty much a gimme for them — but they do have to find a way to beat Falcons if they want to make up for their 0-2 third day.

Day 4 — Falcons smack the living daylights out of MOUZ, Tearlaments lose their shot at the play-in

I know that MOUZ just came off their biggest achievement thus far as a new roster at PGL Wallachia Season 6, but there was one thing about that championship run that I forgot to mention: Falcons didn’t attend the event. Had they done so, I don’t think MOUZ would have even made it to the grand final match, and their staggering defeat at the hands of Falcons on the fourth day of the group stage backs up that assertion.

Seriously, they got demolished. Their first mistake was allowing Stanislav “Malr1ne” Potorak to play Huskar. Mind you, Huskar was Falcons’ first pick. Only Malr1ne (and by extension Ammar “ATF” Al-Assaf) is good enough at the hero that he can pick it up at the earliest opportunity and actually make it work without getting punished.

WHAT DID HE SAY @FalconsEsport pic.twitter.com/51K4Nw6rf0

— BLAST Slam (@BLASTDota) November 28, 2025

Granted, Falcons did ban Ancient Apparition right before picking Huskar, but the fact that they realized Huskar was still in the pool before that was pretty astute of them. Anyway, what ensued was utter destruction, with Falcons ending the game in just 36 and a half minutes and with a 20,000 gold lead by the time MOUZ called GG.

Over on the Chinese side of things, Tearlaments are now out of the running for the initial play-in stage seeds, as they are now 1-8 in games after losing both their matches on Friday. They cannot be feeling good about themselves right now, especially after throwing away what should have been a win against Na’Vi at the end of the day.

They had this game in a chokehold at around 40 minutes in, and were already working on laying siege to Na’Vi’s bottom barracks just a few minutes later. But a lapse in judgment by Huang “7e” Heming as Nature’s Prophet put him in a precarious position in the middle of multiple Na’Vi heroes, and he just could not survive through the damage output despite having a Satanic on hand.

Not the way you want to lose for sure. Incidentally, HEROIC have moved back up to the middle of the standings thanks to Tearlaments as well, and depending on how well they do against OG and Na’Vi on the fifth and final day, we might just see them make the play-in after all.

Day 5 — Group stage ends with three Chinese teams in danger

Well, this is certainly not the greatest look in the world for the host region of BLAST Slam 5. XG, Yakult Brothers, and Tearlaments all finished below the cutoff line for the last chance playoffs, and will be joined by Execration in the do-or-die matches on November 30th. XG in particular looked awful today, especially when it came to NothingToSay and Wang “Ame” Chunyu’s individual performances.

I personally expected a lot more from NothingToSay in particular. He was always consistently winning his lane back in his stint with LGD Gaming, but I guess age does eventually catch up with professional gamers — like it did with Yeik “MidOne” Nai Zheng and Volodymyr “No[o]ne” Minenko. Now, though? He’s barely even a factor from the position. I mean, seriously, 0-7 as Sand King against Tidebound? Come on now.

Ame, meanwhile, just doesn’t seem like he’s having fun playing Dota right now. He farmed up a storm as Juggernaut in the same game, but failed to really make an impact after he got bashed over and over again by Guo “shiro” Xuanang’s Faceless Void. I don’t think this is the way for him to redeem himself from his failures at TI14, and I think he needs to take a break from the game entirely.

As for the other two Chinese squads I mentioned, I don’t think I even need to say much about Yakult Brothers and Tearlaments. Tearlaments get a pass here since they’re basically a tier 2 team, but Yakult Brothers are just an embarrassment to their home region right now.