Tundra did it again: BLAST Slam 3 champions look unstoppable as TI approaches

Team Falcons is one of the best teams in the world, but not even they were enough to stop Tundra from becoming the BLAST Slam 3 champions. This wasn’t a classic stomp — the 3-1 score could’ve been even closer if Falcons had managed to close out some of the leads they built in game two.

The series as a whole brought a fresh approach to the meta. Despite Ringmaster being the most picked hero throughout the tournament, he wasn’t even considered for the grand final. Falcons and Tundra shed light on what the event quietly proved: The invis-meta is strong. Picks like Bounty Hunter, Mirana, and Riki played a decisive role in multiple matches.

First and foremost, what an amazingly close series. The draft battle between these two teams was insanely tight and both managed to adapt when it mattered most. Falcons started with a stealing strategy, picking Doom in two games to disable Tundra's clutch approach as they were the only team playing with this hero as a carry.

When they discovered they couldn't make it work, their counter-strategy was to simply ban it and start securing picks within their comfort zone, while also disrupting Tundra's late-game drafts. With heroes like Ursa and Riki, the tables turned, and Tundra had to think of new ways to play to become the BLAST Slam 3 champions.

Here's a quick summary of how the games went, with some exciting clips you won’t want to miss!

The plan was simple: Pick Dark Seer to counter the Razor and Medusa off-lane. Using Surge, Dark Seer can enable the rest of the team to restart every team fight thanks to movement speed, and Razor depends on control to steal damage.

The only thing needed was for ATF to play slow, get some EXP, and join the team. But we all know ATF is not a player who waits. The result? Two deaths before level two, and constant kills on him to keep him out of team fights. Tundra stomped the first game without too much hassle.

The way Saksa played the second game was close to perfect. Or maybe it doesn't get any better than this. Tundra's soft support player made the laning phase unplayable for Falcons, and every time he roamed, you knew a kill was coming.

Still, this game wasn't as easy as the first one. Team Falcons took the few chances they had to try to come back, and some teamfights went their way, forcing a long match.

But the way Saksa managed to immediately react gave Tundra the upper hand. By the end of the game, he was chosen as the match's MVP, and it felt like a respect ban was needed for Game 3. The next game was Falcons' last attempt to play for the BLAST Slam 3 championship.

Falcons designed a plan to deal with Saksa's control around the map, and it was with a hero that dominated the whole tournament: Riki. They also secured the Ursa clutch pick, enabling Skiter to play one of his strongest heroes. What followed was the utter definition of a stomp.

Sooner rather than later, Ursa became unkillable, and Crystal Maiden was on the same streak. When your hard support has almost as much impact and net worth as your hard carry, you know it’s over.

However, nobody will remember this game for Falcons’ performance. They’ll just talk about how ATF found another bug on the map that prevents Pangolier from bouncing. Yay, still beta!

The BLAST Slam 3 Grand Final's draft had everything: ATF's best hero, Bzm's Invoker comeback, the PA and Warlock combo, Sneyking's position 5 Mirana… This was a beautiful war between coaches Moonmeander and Aui_2000.

And you can't say either of them won. Tundra got the best start on Phantom Assassin's lane, and bottom was a tie thanks to the assistance of casual Sun Strikes into shackles. But Malrine's Dragon Knight left Bzm with almost no creeps to farm. However, the game turned in Tundra's favor when Cataclysm was available for Invoker.

Unfortunately for Tundra, ATF was farmed. He didn’t care about the lane and managed to gather enough resources to become a killing machine. His Timbersaw was a crucial piece for the Dragon Knight. Together, they were able to obliterate any hero they crossed paths with, and with Cr1t’s Shadow Demon help, they were impossible to kill.

But it was a matter of time. The Phantom Assassin pick was perfect due to her Fan of Knives ability. When the initiation was right, killing the tankiest heroes in Falcons' lineup was an easy task. With this strategy, Tundra managed to eliminate Team Falcons and become the BLAST Slam 3 champions..

The tournament is over, and it's also Crystallis' first tier one win with Tundra. As for what's next, we have two important events coming in May!

Sadly, Tundra won't be playing in the next DreamLeague as they're taking a well-deserved break. But we will keep you updated on every tournament in our Dota 2 section!