Over the course of the last 24 hours, the Americas Dota 2 scene crumbled. Following TSM’s sudden (but expected) exit, BOOM Esports released 80 percent of its roster less than a month after signing.
BOOM Esports signed former EG stars Pakazs and Matthew in mid-November, and the team has only played in the ESL One Kuala Lumpur Closed Qualifiers since then. Considering the overall star power in the team, the expectations were high, but they were unmatched as BOOM crashed out of the qualifiers in the second round.
Labeling the team’s time together as a “trial period,” BOOM still has Pakazs signed up with the roster. While the organization didn’t imply a complete exit like TSM, the back-to-back announcements made the fans recall a 2022 trailer by Arkosh Gaming.
In the announcement video, the narrator described the American Dota 2 scene with the following statements: “The desolate landscape devoid of any hope or sponsorships. The survivors, dregs with no promise of any future but a bleak march forward.”
In 2022, this statement turned out to be somewhat true for NA, but sponsors flocked into the South American scene. However, amid the newly found backing, the SA scene failed to achieve any notable results in 2023, causing organizations to leave as Beastcoast purged Dota 2 roster after TI 2023 devastation.
With less strict roster locks and constant open qualifiers, NA and SA will likely endure multiple roster shuffles throughout the year before players find working formulas. It might take a couple of international results for sponsors to return to American Dota 2, and players will be on their own until that happens.
