With The International 2022’s group stage on its last leg, BOOM Esports began the final day on the brink of getting eliminated from the biggest event of the Dota 2 year. With a 3-13 overall record bogging them down, BOOM was set to face Evil Geniuses in a must-win series to just stay alive and force a tiebreaker.
Evil Geniuses had already guaranteed its first-seed finish for Group A the prior day, meaning the series had no bearing on the North American team’s TI11 standing. And facing down such a dominant force, many thought BOOM would be on their way back to the airport by now. In one of the most shocking upsets of the entire group stage, though BOOM overcame EG and near-impossible odds to keep their tournament lives alive.
According to Dota analyst Noxville, BOOM went into its series against EG with just a 1.42 percent chance of making it into the main event. With an active lineup featuring Bristleback, Marci, and a dream, though, BOOM had all areas of the match covered from early to late game.
BOOM did a remarkable job shutting down Nightfall on Primal Beast who have been one of the core parts of EG’s recent success. EG aimed to take the second match to the late game with a Naga Siren pick, and BOOM immediately responded by picking Bristleback again, turning the game into a fool-me-once situation.
Though it took longer for BOOM to crack a dent in EG’s armor, SEA’s hopeful warriors successfully beat all the odds stacked against them, defeating the group stage’s titan.
Shortly after the series, BOOM fans flooded Twitter with memes thanking Agent Abed for his services. And the stars aligned in Singapore outside of their match too, as both Soniqs and BetBoom Team failed to take care of business, forcing a three-way tiebreaker.
Considering BOOM had a working formula versus NA, the SEA comeback story in the making drafted another Bristleback lineup while Soniqs’ second-pick Broodmother pick turned out to be a tournament-costing mistake.
In the meantime, BetBoom was nervously waiting for BOOM in the final tiebreaker match for Group A. Having run the Bristleback strategy three times in a row, BOOM decided it was time for a change and drafted a teamfight-oriented lineup centered around Faceless Void, Enigma, and Zeusthat decimated BetBoom’s need for an early game lead.
As BOOM landed the final hits on BetBoom’s base, a visible joy overcame the players. After waking up to a day that many fans believed would be their last in the tournament, BOOM survived against the odds and took its place in the main event.
BOOM’s trials aren’t over just yet, as the road through the TI11 lower bracket will be long and hard. And, that next set of tests begins on Oct. 20 with a clash against reigning TI Champions Team Spirit.
