Professional commentator and insider Vladimir Maelstorm Kuzminov shared his opinion on the current performance of the Team Spirit roster in Dota 2. During a conversation with viewers on his personal stream, the caster analyzed the team's unstable performance at the BLAST Slam VII tournament.
— MaelstormTeam Spirit is playing at only 10%? Well, apparently that's the reason. Just a bo1 is a terrible option for Spirit, they really love to throw/test the first game, don't they? I think this is a bit of a reference to the old Spirit. Because the old Spirit used to love coming back, I would say. They didn't like throwing. Nobody likes throwing. Spirit loved coming back, but why? Because they were very well-prepared strategically. Now, unfortunately, that foundation has slipped away from under their feet.
As a result of the group stage of the current tournament, Team Spirit won five matches and lost six. All matchups in the first phase of the championship were held in a highly unpredictable one-win format (best-of-1). The points earned were only enough for the team to advance to the Last Chance stage.
On May 30, 2026, the Team Spirit roster will face the European team OG in a match for the right to advance to the second stage of the playoffs. This elimination matchup will take place in a classic two-win format (best-of-3) and will start at 15:00 Moscow time. The team that loses will be eliminated from the championship, sharing the fate of the previously eliminated teams Xtreme Gaming and GLYPH.
The BLAST Slam VII tournament is taking place from May 26 to June 7, 2026, in a LAN competition format in Denmark. Twelve invited teams are competing for a large total prize pool of one million dollars.