The Boom Esports Dota 2 team has finally signed two new players, Chung “Ws” Wei Shen and Ye “Boboka” Zhibiao, in preparation for The International 12: Regional Qualifier competition for the Southeast Asia region, which will take place on August 27. Surprisingly, the announcement has triggered a backlash from their devoted fanbase, who have been closely following these two since the start of this season.
The 18-year old Ws will be taking the place of veteran player Saieful “Fbz” Ilham, who recently extended his loan term with Team Secret in Europe. Meanwhile, Boboka will be signed as a loanee from Team Aster to fill the pos 4 which left vacant by Kenny “Xepher” Deo, who is now part of the Blacklist International team.
Although the majority of their fans have responded warmly to Boboka, it’s a different story for Ws. The latter has had several impressive achievements in Malaysia, becoming a regular player on the Atlantis team when he was just 16 years old and securing a gold medal with the Malaysian Dota 2 national team during the Commonwealth Esports Championship 2022 tournament in Birmingham, England. Yet, they remain unimpressed and concerned about his past scandal, fearing it could tarnish the team’s reputation.
The dispute stems from an old report claiming that he was banned by Oceanic Esports, an Australian esports organizer, in September 2021 due to account sharing that occurred between him and a Malaysian team called Royale 5. Furthermore, they believe that his relationship with Boom’s head coach Chai “Mushi” Yee Fung, who is also a Malaysian citizen, was the only reason he passed the trial and made it to the team.
The announcement marked an exciting new beginning for the Boom Esports Dota 2 squad, which for the first time does not feature any Indonesian players in its lineup. However, they have not yet decided whether to maintain this lineup beyond the 2023 season.
