GamerLegion, Yandex reach upper-bracket final at PARI Universe

GamerLegion and Team Yandex moved within one victory of a spot in the PARI Universe final by winning their upper-bracket semifinals matches on Thursday.

GamerLegion swept OG 2-0, and Team Yandex edged PARIVISION 2-1. The victors will face off on Saturday with a berth in the grand final on the line.

Lower-bracket action began on Thursday, with Team Liquid eliminating Astra Invicta 2-0, and Team Spirit ousting LEGION 2-0.

The $250,000, 10-team Dota 2 event began with a round-robin group stage, with all matches best-of-three. The top four teams in each group qualified for the double-elimination playoffs, with the last-place team in each group eliminated.

The playoffs also will feature best-of-three matches until the best-of-five grand final on Sunday. The championship team will receive $45,000 for the club, $80,000 for the players.

On Thursday, GamerLegion rolled past OG in 38 minutes on Radiant and 43 minutes on Dire.

The United States' Francis "RCY" Fundemera notched a 20-4-24 kill-death-assist ratio for GamerLegion. Finland's Topias "Topson" Taavitsainen registered an 8-12-5 K-D-A ratio for OG.

Team Yandex opened with a 72-minute victory on Dire before PARIVISION quickly equalized in 16 minutes on Radiant. On the decision third map, Team Yandex prevailed in 42 minutes on Dire.

Jordan's Ammar "ATF" Al-Assaf amassed a 27-14-24 K-D-A ratio for Team Yandex. Russia's Alan "Satanic" Gallyamov finished at 35-12-29 for PARIVISION.

Team Liquid bested Astra Invicta in 64 minutes on Dire and 43 minutes on Radiant. Sweden's Michael "miCKe" Vu recorded a 24-1-18 K-D-A ratio for Team Liquid. Russia's Egor "Nightfall" Grigorenko produced a 12-4-14 K-D-A ratio for Astra Invicta.

Team Spirit earned 42- and 63-minute victories against LEGION, both on Dire. Ukraine's Illya "Yatoro" Mulyarchuk wound up with a 30-6-17 K-D-A ratio for Team Spirit. North Macedonia's Igor "Stojkov" Stojkov ended up at 15-11-18 for LEGION.

The upcoming schedule:

Friday

--Lower-bracket quarterfinal -- OG vs. Team Liquid

--Lower-bracket quarterfinal -- PARIVISION vs. Team Spirit

--Lower-bracket semifinal -- OG/Liquid winner vs. PARIVISION/Spirit winner

Saturday

--Upper-bracket final -- Team Yandex vs. GamerLegion

--Lower-bracket final -- Yandex/GamerLegion loser vs. lower-bracket semifinal winner

Sunday

--Grand final

PARI Universe prize pool, with player prize money and club share

1. $125,000 ($80,000, $45,000)

2. $50,000 ($32,000, $18,000)

3. $30,000 ($20,000, $10,000)

4. $15,000 ($10,000, $5,000)

5-6. $10,000 ($10,000, none)

7-8. $5,000 ($5,000, none) -- Astra Invicta, LEGION

9-10. none -- 1w Team, BetBoom Team

--Field Level Media