BLAST Slam IV group-stage leaders remain on top

Tundra Esports and Team Falcons each lost a match on Wednesday, but they are tied for first place through two days of action in the BLAST Slam IV's group stage.

Tundra Esports downed HEROIC and BetBoom Team, then stumbled against Aurora Gaming. Team Falcons fell to HEROIC before defeating Team Liquid.

The results leave Team Falcons and Tundra Esports at 4-1, just ahead of Team Spirit (3-1). MOUZ, Natus Vincere and Team Aureus are all 3-2, with Aurora Gaming and HEROIC, both 2-3, occupying the last two playoff positions with three days of group play to go.

The $1 million Dota 2 tournament has a five-day group stage featuring 12 teams in a round-robin format. All matches in the round robin are best-of-one. The top two teams in the group stage will receive byes into the semifinals. The third- through eighth-place finishers advance to a Play-In, while the bottom four teams will square off in a best-of-three Last Chance Playoff on Sunday.

The winner of the Last Chance Playoff gets the final spot in the Play-In, while the other three teams are eliminated. The Play-In is a best-of-three, with the first round also taking place on Sunday. The winners advance to the playoffs, which will run from Nov. 7-9. The quarterfinals and semifinals will be best-of-three, while the grand final is a best-of-five.

The championship squad will receive $750,000 as prize money in addition to $250,000 in team earnings.

On Wednesday, Tundra beat HEROIC in 40 minutes on red, got past BetBoom Team in 40 minutes on green and lost to Aurora Gaming in 60 minutes on green. Israel's Neta "33" Shapira paced Tundra with a combined 24-14-40 kill-death-assist ratio.

Team Falcons lost to HEROIC in 59 minutes on red, then bested Team Liquid in 43 minutes on red. Slovakia's Oliver "skiter" Lepko amassed a total 13-5-24 K-D-A ratio for Team Falcons.

The Thursday schedule:

--Team Spirit vs. BetBoom Team

--Aurora Gaming vs. Yakult Brothers

--Team Liquid vs. Team Aureus

--Team Falcons vs. Team Spirit

--Team Liquid vs. HEROIC

--Team Spirit vs. Tundra Esports

--HEROIC vs. Team Aureus

--Team Liquid vs. Natus Vincere

--Tundra Esports vs. MOUZ

--BetBoom Team vs. Execration

--Aurora Gaming vs. MOUZ

--BetBoom Team vs. Yakult Brothers

--Team Falcons vs. Natus Vincere

--Yakult Brothers vs. Execration

BLAST Slam IV standings

T1. Team Falcons, 4-1

T1. Tundra Esports, 4-1

3. Team Spirit, 3-1

T4. MOUZ, 3-2

T4. Natus Vincere, 3-2

T4. Team Aureus, 3-2

T7. Aurora Gaming, 2-3

T7. HEROIC, 2-3

T9. BetBoom Team, 1-3

T9. Team Liquid, 1-3

T9. Yakult Brothers, 1-3

12. Execration, 1-4

BLAST Slam IV prize pool ($1 million total with $750,000 awarded as prize money and $250,000 as team earnings):

1. $300,000 ($100,000 team earnings), TBD

2. $150,000 ($50,000 team), TBD

3-4. $60,000 ($20,000 team), TBD

5-6. $35,000 ($15,000 team), TBD

7-8. $30,000 ($7,500 team), TBD

9-10. $25,000 ($5,000 team), TBD

11-12. $10,00 ($2,500 team), TBD

--Field Level Media