Cover-Credits:
BOOM Esports was eliminated from the ESL One Stockholm Major 2022 in the first round of the lower bracket after OG put on two skillful performances. Even though both teams had competitive drafts in the two games, OG turned out to be the one that emerged victorious owing to sheer outplaying. While all five of the OG players made clutch plays at different points during the two games, they were all compelling. BOOM's elimination from the Major in the 9th-12th position comes as quite a surprise since the team was considered one of the favorites to win it all going into it. On the other hand, OG continues to fight for the championship title in the lower bracket.
OG vs BOOM Esports: Match Recap and Highlights
Recap
Game 1 was a tense battle in which both sides fought valiantly. The draft included several comfort heroes on both sides. Inside the game, both teams traded blows at first but took a step back in the middle stages to focus on obtaining BKBs for their cores. It was all about execution during teamfights as soon as the cores had their BKBs. No team was able to gain a significant lead in the several teamfights that transpired before BOOM ran out of damage to kill its opponents in the later stages. Taiga was exceptionally accurate with his spell usage on Pugna, saving his comrades several times, and a 52-minute fun fest finally finished in OG's favor.
Game 2 began evenly, but as the laning stage faded and teams began skirmishing, it became clear that OG had the means to overpower BOOM. With more kills and greater map use, OG gained the lead. As the game progressed, BOOM's heroes began to feel the pressure and made several uncharacteristic mistakes. While the team scored some crucial kills here and there, they were largely failing on a macro level. Eventually, with a significant advantage, OG won in 41 minutes.
Highlights
Here are some highlights of the series.
In the Stockholm Major, OG has looked both hot and cold. However, whenever it has played to its potential, the team has been a force to be reckoned with. A perfect example of this came in today's game against BOOM. It was a top-notch team effort from all five players, and Sébastien "Ceb" Debs provided an astonishing performance as the position five Windranger. BOOM had difficulty dodging his Shackleshots, particularly in the second game. The team will now play the winner of T1 vs Fnatic in the next round of the lower bracket.
BOOM entered the Major as one of the most in-form teams and was widely considered a main contender. However, as the Southeast Asian team now looks back on the event, it clearly did not meet expectations. BOOM had done well in all sorts of environments in the past six months but appeared to be under pressure at this event and could not execute its aggressive playstyle. It is nonetheless the team's first low finish in a long time and it will hope to bounce back in the next Tour.
The second day of the playoffs at the Stockholm Major 2022 has been quite a surprise with three of the top teams shown the door early, including Team Spirit, Team Liquid, and BOOM Esports. There are now nine teams fighting for the title of the first Major of the Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) 2021-22.
