The start of the group stage immediately gives teams different routes through the double elimination bracket, so even the first series significantly affects the further distance. It is especially important not only to take the victory, but also to avoid an early drop to the lower bracket, where the margin for error becomes much smaller.
Tournament context
BLAST Open Porto 2026 is played with a group stage in a double elimination Bo3 format. In the Opening round, the winner moves on to the Upper semi-finals, while the losing team drops to Lower round 1 and continues the tournament already under threat of elimination.
Spirit and DENDELE met in the opening series of Group A. Spirit approached the match as the clear favorite and confirmed the difference in class, closing the series without a third map and not allowing the opponent to truly impose a fight.
How the match unfolded — Spirit vs DENDELE
Series score: 2:0 in favor of Spirit
- Ancient (Spirit’s pick) — 13:8
On their own pick, Spirit took control of the game fairly quickly. DENDELE managed to stay within a competitive scoreline, but Spirit played the key rounds more consistently and confidently brought the map to victory. - Cache (DENDELE’s pick) — 13:7
On DENDELE’s pick, the scenario did not change significantly. Spirit once again demonstrated a better game structure, worked more consistently in duels, and did not allow the opponent to take the series to the deciding Anubis.
Player of the Match — Danil “donk” Kryshkovets (Spirit)
- K–D: 48–26
- ADR: 129.4
- Rating 3.0: 2.14
Key contribution: donk played an extremely strong series and became Spirit’s main individual force. His advantage in duels and exceptionally high ADR allowed the team to control both maps with almost no serious drops.
VRS results
- Spirit — 0 pt → 1992 pt
The victory did not bring Spirit any additional ranking points, so the team remained in first place in VRS with 1992 points. In this case, the main result was the confident advancement through the upper bracket. - DENDELE — +5 pt → 1380 pt
Despite the loss, DENDELE received a small VRS gain and moved from 32nd to 30th place. At the same time, in tournament terms, the team drops to the lower part of Group A and no longer has the right to another unsuccessful series.
What’s next?
Spirit advance to the Upper semi-finals of Group A, where they will continue fighting for a place in the Upper final and the opportunity to get through the group stage by the shortest route.
DENDELE drop to Lower round 1. The team still has a chance to stay at BLAST Open Porto 2026, but the next loss will already mean the end of their tournament run.
Match summary
Spirit played a confident opening series and did not give DENDELE a single map. On Ancient, the favorite gradually built a comfortable advantage, and on Cache once again confirmed control of the match and closed the series 2:0 without unnecessary problems.
The main difference was donk’s individual form and Spirit’s overall stability in key rounds. As a result, the team advances to the Upper semi-finals of Group A and keeps first place in VRS, while DENDELE are forced to continue BLAST Open Porto 2026 through Lower round 1.
