Boom Esports CEO, Gary Ongko, has teased the latest Dota 2 roster for the team, signaling their commitment to compete in the South American region. In addition to this development, Ongko expressed aspirations to reestablish the CSGO division in the same locale.
During a recent Space session with Boom Esports on the X platform, Ongko addressed the team’s recent underwhelming performances in Dota 2 competitions, prompting significant changes to the lineup. Notably, he revealed that he personally attended the ESL One Kuala Lumpur 2023 competition in Malaysia as part of the strategic overhaul.
Amidst the discussion, Ongko confirmed that Antony “Pakazs” Casanova is the sole remaining player in the Dota 2 lineup, continuing as the carry player while awaiting the introduction of four new team members. He underscored that, in the upcoming season, the team would be departing from the Peruvian stack composition, despite maintaining their presence in the SA region.
“You guys already knew what happened when we adopted the full (Peruvian) stack. Obviously, it didn’t perform as expected. I guess it was, like, a trial period, right? So we gave it another chance in Poland boot camp, for Pinnacle, but we also had pretty bad performance and result. So we decided to make some changes,” explained Gary.
“I was in KL, but I didn’t go there to watch ESL One. I went there to do something. So you can guess it for yourself!” He teased. “We are definitely staying in the SA region. But there will not be 5 players from SA.”
Having laid out his plans for revitalizing the Dota 2 lineup, Gary fielded an intriguing question about his perspective on the current state of the CSGO scene, especially with the emergence of CSGO 2. Without hesitation, he expressed keen interest in reopening the CSGO division in SA, reminiscent of his move in 2017.
“Will we return to CSGO? Maybe. But if we do, it will, for sure, be South American too. I won’t open SEA roster, 100 percent I won’t!” he declared. “I will not have CSGO 2 SEA cause I did talk to a couple of people that doesn’t make any sense. For what they’re asking, I would just go back to SA.”
Looking ahead to 2024, Boom Esports is gearing up for a dynamic year with a keen focus on both Dota 2 and CSGO, along with the rising star, Valorant. The seasoned Indonesian esports organization faced a challenging 2023, marked by subpar performances in non-mobile esports competitions and the departure of key veteran players across divisions, many of whom are poised to join rival teams in the near future.
