All good things must come to an end. And so it did.
After surviving tough group through tie-breakers, and then dumping reigning champions Team Spirit out of the competition, Boom finally fell to PSG.LGD. And with them the hopes of SEA in The International 11
But what a ride it was.
One victory needed
After emerging champions of SEA, there was hope that Boom would finally stake SEA’s claim in TI, alongside Fnatic and Talon, as TI shifted to the region this year.
But while they have done well against the various teams at the previous Majors, Boom just found it difficult to find their footing early on.
Boom seemed to lose everything and suffered defeat after defeat in every game in Group A, he group of death. Their performances were slammed by experts and fellow pro players. They were so dreadful that one expert took to twitter that Boom only had 1.42 per cent to make it to the lower bracket.
The viewers were looking forward to the outcome of the final group stage match between Boom and the hardest team in the group, Evil Geniuses. Not even their ardent fans had expected a victory.
But somehow they prevailed. First, with a hard fought 2-0 win over Evil Geniuses and then going on to dethrone the reigning champions Team Spirit.
“Boom Esports? They don’t seem like great players to me. I feel they are mediocre,” said Yatoro of Team Spirit during Stockholm Major 2022 competition. Yatoro should have realized that cornering a beast was never a good idea. Especially the ‘Hungry Beast’.
Their patience paid off when Collapse and Yatoro committed a blunder in the mid game, granting Boom an opportunity to retaliate. jaCkyy put the spotlight on Boom as his Shadow Fiend decimated Team Spirit and secured the game in the 40th minute.
A moment of victory that certainly will not be forgotten in a long time. The Indonesian team smacked the reigning champion on their first ever appearance in the tournament.
The miracle run ends
Right after overcoming Team Spirit, they had to face PSG.LGD in the lower bracket’s second round. A mission impossible against one of the favorites, or so they say. The moment of victory over Team Spirit, however, had the team’s morale boosted in a short while. Fans believed this team could beat anyone.
But the Dota Gods ruled that this was a bridge too far to cross.
The pressure from LGD were apparent as Boom simply could not do anything to fend them off. LGD clearly had no intention of taking it easy against Boom. They knew really well what Boom had done with Team Spirit prior to this match. LGD put the pedal to the metal from the start and Boom were completely devastated as Ame and XinQ spread their wings of terror. They conceded in just than 30 minute.
Boom attempted to set the tempo in the second game following their defeat in the game one. They were the better side for the first 20 minute as Yopaj’s Kunkka and jaCkyy’s Bloodseeker were aggresively preying upon LGD heroes.
But their time was up. The hungry predator from the early game became the prey. Faith.bian waited for his moment and successfully turned the table. With his excellent micro skills Faith_bian’s Visage pumelled Boom’s towers and heroes to submission. LGD closed the game for good with 2-0 victory over Boom.
What’s next?
“Dota 2 always has a special place, I guess, for me,” said Gary in LeonArthurDota’s Podcast, Connecting the dotes, in December 2021. The podcast made it obvious about how passionate he is whenever anyone asks him about anything that has to do with the Dota competition.
As CEO of Boom, his number one priority has always been Dota 2, which is no secret to Boom Esports’s fans. They may be participating in numerous esports competitions, but the Dota 2 division will always be their centerpiece. He will make sure that the squad improves and grows every season. This included cleaning up the squad and compromising their ‘Indo Pride’ identity, that they have been proud of.
Looking back at their 2021-2022 season campaign, Boom should be delighted with what they have achieved just now. Went this far in their very first TI competition and facing one of the strongest teams in the world is no mean feat, after all.
It’s definitely interesting to see what are their plans to improve ahead of next season. With their players, Yopaj and jaCkyy in particular, Boom definitely still counts as one of the strongest contenders from Southeast Asia. And judging by some of their greatest moments in TI, their determination to achieve greatness seems to indicate that they are currently on the right track. The track that gradually takes them to what Gary was hoped for.
“My dream is to straight up win the TI. If we win TI, right, I think we already did a step better than OG. We started from Lower Division!” concluded Gary in Connecting the Dotes podcast.
