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BOOM Esports, one of Indonesia's leading esports organizations, was among the three teams from the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region to qualify for VCT Champions 2022 Istanbul. The organization earned a last-minute ticket to the tournament after dominating the APAC Last Chance Qualifiers.
BOOM Esports was slotted in Group B of the VCT Champions Istanbul Group Stage alongside OpTic Gaming, LOUD and ZETA DIVISION. They opened up their LAN tally with a 1-2 defeat against the Stage 1 Masters winners, OpTic Gaming.
As a result of their defeat, BOOM was pushed to the elimination bracket of Group B, wherein they face Japanese contenders, ZETA DIVISION. BOOM Esports will take on ZETA DIVISION on Sunday, September 4 at 5.00 am PDT / 2.00 pm CEST / 5.30 pm IST.
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BOOM Esports' coach meow talks about their LAN debut at VCT Champions 2022 Istanbul
In a conversation with Adarsh J Kumar of Sportskeeda Esports, BOOM Esports' head coach, Ji "meow" Dong-jun, talked about the team's performance in their first major Valorant event. He also detailed BOOM Esports' preparations and expectations for the latter stages of VCT Champions 2022 Istanbul.
Q: This was BOOM Esports' first appearance at an international VCT event. Considering this was your first-ever LAN event as well, how do you think the team performed?
meow: I think we did well on the first map; we made very small mistakes. On the second and third map, I guess we gave them too much respect. The respect cost us a lot. I feel we could've won the game for sure if we were just playing much more confident.
We don't fear any team. Our scrims results was okay, so we know how strong we can be. I'm just guessing that the guys were probably a bit too nervous today, with it being the first LAN for a lot of them. Other than that, I'm still confident that we can win against any team.
Q: After playing the APAC LCQ all the way till the end, BOOM Esports less than a month to prepare for Champions. How did you prepare the team to play against some of the best teams from all over the world in such a short time?
meow: We looked up to Paper Rex a lot in this aspect. They've shown the world that they are a very strong team. So the things that we tried to prepare a lot was to play without being scared, but I guess it got to them today.
Nevertheless, we are just going to try to play our game. We are not going to be scared of anyone for sure after this.
As for the preparation, we can't say we prepared a lot. After we got here, we had to go for all the content shoots. Overall we were just unlucky, I guess. But we will be prepared for the next game for sure.
Q: You brought in famouz just recently on loan Persija Esports. He’s been playing quite an important role for the team right now, so how influential has he been so far for Boom Esports?
meow: He's our missing piece of the puzzle for sure. He is amazing. I've seen him play for a long time, since I've been active in the Indonesian scene for around one year or more. I've always been interested in him. I'm happy we got him, at least now.
Q: As you know, Pearl has entered the map pool for VCT Champions and we've already seen a few teams fight it out on the map. How prepared are you to play the map later in the tournament?
meow: Pearl is our secret weapon. We've been preparing a lot for that map. I could say we did really well on that map. The reason why we didn't pick it is because we didn't know what they were going to do.
So, we were actually worried about that. Other than that, I think we're ready to play Pearl in the next match for sure.
Q: Riot recently revealed that they will be introducing a franchise league structure to Valorant esports for the next five years. What are your thoughts on this project?
meow: I guess most players would want to go to the league. For people who aren't in the league, I think it's still a very good idea that Riot is giving us. We still have a chance to get to the league, so I want a lot of teams to still stick to their teams, play and grind a lot. You never know, they might make it to the league one day.
Q: In the next Act of Valorant, we will witness a new Agent addition. From what you've seen so far, what do you think about the Agent?
meow: I'm excited! We need more Agents for sure; we still don't have enough. I feel like when there will be a lot more Agents, the game is going to get a lot more interesting.
Q: BOOM Esports will face ZETA DIVISION in the elimination matchup of Group B. This is your first time playing them in an official fixture, so what are your expectations for that matchup?
meow: ZETA is actually one of our scrim partners in APAC. I could say we're confident against them for sure.
Q: Which team (s) here at VCT Champions 2022 Istanbul are you looking forward to playing against the most?
meow: I would say FPX and Fnatic for sure. I've watched them play and it's very good. I really want to play them, I really want to try to counter them, and I really want to beat them.
Q: This is your first time at a major Valorant event. We’ve seen a lot of underdog teams make it to the top in several VCT events in the past. How strong do you think BOOM is, compared to the other teams, and what do you think are your chances of winning VCT Champions Istanbul?
meow: Since we're the new guys here at Champions, our goal for now is to get to the playoffs. After the playoffs, we're going to look at the bigger picture. It's not because we're not confident. It's mostly because I would rather look at our short-term goals first and then look at the bigger picture later on.
