MORE FILIPINOS will proceed to the main stage of The International 2025 as the Southeast Asian squad BOOM Esports have also secured their slot.
The Indonesian based organization consists of three Filipinos in Armel "Armel" Tabios, Timothy "TIMS" Randrup, and Jaunuel "Jaunuel" Arcilla. To compliment their efforts, the team fielded talented players in the region namely Lao player Souliya "JaCkky" Khoomphetsavong and Thailand Dota 2 legend Anucha "Jabz" Jirawong.
For BOOM to secure their slot to Hamburg, Germany, they had to dispatch one of the favorites in the region, Talon Esports.
RECAP: BOOM Esports vs. Talon Esports
Since these two teams are fighting for the final slot of The International, both BOOM and Talon fought to the death.
Game 1 saw a tight encounter on the first 30 minutes, however things changed when BOOM managed to latched on Rafli "Mikoto" Fathur Rahman's Storm Spirit. With the crowd control from Jaunuel's Batrider, there was nothing the Storm Spirit could do which eventually snowballed as BOOM kept on hunting him down.
Combined with JaCkky's Sven, Mikoto was left in awkward teamfights.
Game 2 saw Talon respond as they dismantled BOOM within 38 minutes, which led to the final game that decided the final Southeast Asian representative.
A 22nd death trap from BOOM led by Jabz' Pangolier in Game 3 gave them the momentum to pile on the pressure.
And once again, BOOM's counterplay prevailed as they timed their ults to slow down Talon's aggression. The combo of Jabz and Armel's Queen of Pain rattled Talon and this was further echoed by Jaunuel's Naga Siren.
As the match went on, it seemed BOOM checkmated their foes and eventually they became the 2nd team after Team Nemesis to secure their TI slot.
BOOM last made it to TI back in 2022 where they eliminated the defending champions, Team Spirit.
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