The South American Dota 2 scene faced significant challenges at The International 2023, achieving no better than a 13th-place finish, a stark contrast to the remarkable fifth-place run in 2022. Faced with this downturn and uncertainties in the Dota Pro Circuit (DPC), several organizations decided to scale back their Dota 2 operations. However, BOOM Esports, a Southeast Asian (SEA) organization, has stepped up as a new contender by announcing the signing of South American stars Christian “Pakazs” Savina and Farith “Matthew” Puente.
Speculation arose among Dota 2 fans regarding BOOM’s potential move to the South American scene for the upcoming season. The organization clarified in a follow-up tweet, revealing the addition of two more players from Thunder Awaken, Jordan “SLATEM$” Vega and Romel “Mjz” Quinteros Rojas, signaling BOOM Esports’ shift of Dota 2 operations to South America for the 2024 competitive season.
After TI 2023, several organizations, including beastcoast and Evil Geniuses, scaled back their Dota 2 involvement due to poor results and the uncertain trajectory of the competitive landscape without the Dota Pro Circuit.
For BOOM, this decision represents a significant milestone, considering its operations in SEA since 2017 with various Dota 2 rosters. Despite a promising roster for the TI 2023 qualifiers, featuring xNova and BoBoKa, the team failed to qualify in the regionals. With increasing competition in SEA, including entries from prominent organizations like Blacklist International, BOOM may have chosen to prioritize building a competitive roster in a region currently losing organizational support rather than engaging in contractual conflicts with SEA powerhouses.
BOOM Esports’ South American Dota 2 roster is slated to compete in the ESL One Kuala Lumpur 2023 open qualifiers, concluding on Nov. 15.