Southeast Asia has long been seen by many Dota 2 fans as the most aggressive. It’s also the region known for a lot of surprises and there were many of those in both the regular season and Regional Finals. For Tour 1, it was BOOM Esports that took home the crown along with $50,000 and 250 DPC Points.
Road to Tour 1
There’s no question that BOOM’s win is indeed a surprise. That’s because they weren’t even supposed to be part of this season’s Division I. At the end of the Dota Pro Circuit 2021 Season 2, the team finished seventh which meant they were going to Division II.
However, sometime in November 2021, it was revealed that Omega Esports was banned from all Valve-sponsored events due to match-fixing activities. Because of this, BOOM was able to stay in Division I.
Regular Season
When the new season started, it looked like BOOM didn’t waste the chance that was given to them. They won six of their seven games, winning at 2–0. Their only loss was against T1 at 0–2. It was enough for the team to end in first place and get that sweet, sweet 300 DPC Points.
Regional Finals
The team faced some problems even before the matches started. Justine Ryan Evangelista "Tino" Grimaldo was placed on inactive status and Souliya "JaCkky" Khoomphetsavong served as a stand-in. Fortunately for BOOM, that didn't really affect their performance.
In their first game, they faced off against Team SMG. BOOM dominated SMG by winning both games in under 40 minutes and had a lead of more than 20 kills in total team kills. Their next match was against T1 and while they managed to tie the series, it was T1 that ultimately got the win with BOOM going down to the Lower Bracket Finals.
Here, they went against SMG again and it wasn't the easy road like it was before. Still, BOOM was able to win 2-1 against SMG.
That meant the Grand Final was another face-off against T1. In this one, BOOM made sure of the work of their opponents, winning the first game with total team kills of 30-5 and getting the victory in the second game with total team kills of 17-3. The third game was a close one with BOOM holding on to the lead. A team fight would go the way of T1, who immediately went for a GG push.
With the threat of a reverse sweep, BOOM knew they had to win the fourth game. BOOM didn't disappoint and won the game, becoming the winner of the Regional Finals.
Finishing on top of the region and winning the finals allows BOOM to have 500 DPC Points. Not bad for a team that was supposed to be in a lower division.
Dota 2 is available on PC.
