BetBoom Team claim first 2025 LAN title at PGL Wallachia Season 5

BetBoom Team made almost a full lower bracket run to prove the doubters wrong and claim the trophy at PGL Wallachia Season 5.

Sent to the lower bracket in the second round of playoffs series by Team Liquid, BetBoom Team took revenge on the Western European team on Sunday in the lower bracket finals, and went on dominating Gaimin Gladiators in the grand finals to secure only the second LAN title in the organisation existence and the first of 2025.

BetBoom’s lower bracket redemption

PGL Wallachia Season 5 began with uncertainty for BetBoom Team after they opened the group stage matches with a loss to Edge, and continued with mixed results, having to play all five rounds in the modified Swiss format to make it to the playoffs stage. They barely made it, placing eighth in the group play, and then an early upper bracket loss sent them spiraling into the lower bracket. Rumours had swirled in recent weeks about Ivan "Pure" Moskalenko’s potential departure from the team, casting doubt over the team’s cohesion. However, BetBoom quickly silenced the skeptics by dominantly reaching the lower bracket finals and denying Team Liquid a three-peat at PGL Wallachia, before taking down Gaimin Gladiators in the grand finals.

Team Liquid’s crisis at PGL Wallachia Season 5

Many of the Dota 2 fans had Team Liquid as favourites to win it all, despite the team starting the tournament with a stand-in. Tobias "Tobi" Buchner helped Liquid through the group stage matches as Aydin "iNSaNiA" Sarkohi couldn’t join his team right from the start of the tournament. He came in the playoffs, but on the finals day, coach William "Blitz" Lee revealed that Insania had been feeling ill for the entire playoff run and that his condition worsened to the point where he was unfit to play. Liquid were allowed to use another stand-in for their series with BetBoom in the lower bracket finals, but going into the match with no time for basic preparation, it was basically a free pass to the grand finals for BB Team, who dispatched Liquid 0-2.

BetBoom’s domination

Despite the chaos, BetBoom looked sharp and coordinated, dismantling Liquid with clinical precision. Their lower bracket run set up a high-stakes grand final against Gaimin Gladiators, who had been unstoppable throughout the event, dropping just one game on their way to the finals.

Danil "gpk~" Skutin delivered a masterclass through the first two games of the best-of-five grand finals, going 7/1/20 on Queen of Pain in game 1 and 17/1/14 on Puck in game 2.

However, Gaimin struck back in game three, courtesy of a late game resurgence from Quinn "Quinn" Callahan’s Leshrac. They almost made a full comeback and were on the verge of pushing the grand finals to a decisive game 5 as BetBoom struggled to close game four despite mounting a 30K gold lead. Around the 52-minute mark in game 4, Gaimin found the strength to wipe BB Team and breach their base.

Unfortunately for them, it was a bit too late to make a full recovery, and after 60+ grueling minutes, Gaimin finally tapped out, with Pure sending a stinging "for dyrachyo!" in all-chat, referring to Gaimin’s decision to replace their carry player after placing second at The International 2024.

Despite the loss to BetBoom Team, Gaimin’s near-flawless run (only one game dropped before the finals) proves they have finally found their stride and are back to their championship-winning form. They couldn’t find a better moment to peak, as the Esports World Cup (EWC), where they go to defend their title, starts on the 8th of July, 2025.

Until then, they will make a quick pit-stop at FISSURE Universe: Episode 5, which begins on the 1st of July and serves as a perfect occasion for everyone playing to fine-tune their strategies before EWC.