Cover-Credits:
With a roster filled with top regional talent, BOOM Esports failed yet again to live up to the expectations, being relegated from Division I of the Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) Southeast Asia (SEA) 2023 Tour 3. With two wins out of seven series in the league, the team found itself in a best of 3 tiebreaker against Army Geniuses with relegation at stake, but it could not rise to the challenge, losing games two and three to concede a 2-1 defeat. Despite being promoted to Division I this Tour 3 after making a comeback in Division II of Tour 2, BOOM will have to begin from Division II in the next DPC season once again.
BOOM Esports relegated to Division II after disappointing DPC 2023 Tour 3 performance
BOOM Esports annihilated Army Geniuses in the opening game of the tiebreaker, taking 27 kills while only giving up three. At that moment, it appeared like Chai "Mushi" Yee Fung, who was playing as the stand-in offlaner, and his teammates would comfortably win, but it was not to be.
In game two, an effort to deploy the offlaner Alchemist plan failed because, despite a strong start, BOOM lost steam and was unable to compete with the high teamfight potential Army Geniuses presented by Tidehunter, Storm Spirit's Aghanim's Sceptre, and Medusa.
It came down to the final game of Tour 3 Division I to determine who would keep its spot. Both sides scored at regular intervals, but Army Geniuses was impeccable in the second half and it took just one major teamfight win to seal the deal.
While Army Geniuses will be relieved to have retained its Division I slot, the defeat ends a disappointing campaign for BOOM who finished in seventh place.
After going 7-0 in Division II last season and without losing a single game, it appeared that the team dropping from Division I in Tour 1 was an exception and that the squad assembled with top-rated players would definitely provide strong competition to others in Tour 3.
While a win against Talon Esports was notable in Tour 3, BOOM never quite found out how to win consistently and only looked cohesive in patches. Coach Mushi came to the team’s rescue in the last few series by playing as a stand-in offlaner, but as it stands, it was not enough to keep the team in Division I.
Taking some days off, BOOM will now focus its attention on The International 12 (TI12) qualifiers. While it is still currently unknown, it would not be shocking if any roster changes occur prior to the qualifiers.
