BETBOOM claimed the final playoff position at the Thunderpick World Championship after defeating Legacy 2-1 in a thrilling match.
The Russian squad staged a remarkable comeback on Nuke, overcoming a 12-7 disadvantage to secure overtime victory on their map pick. They nearly replicated this feat on Dust2 before closing out the series 13-11 on Mirage in an intense deciding map.
Kirill "Boombl4" Mikhailov described the match as intense when speaking to HLTV afterward. He pointed to their terrorist-side performance on Dust2 as the main weakness, calling it stressful and noting they made mistakes. However, he viewed these as learning opportunities for upcoming matches while celebrating the dramatic Nuke comeback and overtime win. The team's satisfaction was evident as they advanced to the playoffs.
BETBOOM now faces Falcons in the semi-finals. Their previous encounter was during IEM Cologne Major Stage 3, where the Russian team won 2-0 with Kirill "Magnojez" Rodnov delivering an exceptional 1.86 rating performance while using Timur "FL4MUS" Marev as a substitute.
Boombl4 reflected on last season's challenges with multiple stand-ins during their playoff runs in Atlanta and at the Major, highlighting the valuable experience gained by players like Magnojez, d1Ledez and S1ren. With a complete roster now, he expressed optimism about reaching the final.
Their consecutive group stage wins in Malta, following an opening loss to FURIA, pushed BETBOOM into the global VRS top 10 - crucial momentum heading into the season's final stretch with tournaments in Bucharest and Beijing before the Singapore Major.
Boombl4 noted the visible improvement compared to their first three tournaments, where stress dominated. Now the team appears relaxed and performing well. He revealed their coach's initial season goal was simply maintaining top-15 or top-16 status for LAN invitations and experience. Currently sitting in the top-10 with multiple events ahead, they're targeting at least two playoff appearances, with uncertainty about how far they can go in this tournament.
