Following their impressive victory at PGL Wallachia Season 5, members of the BetBoom Team Dota 2 roster have shed light on the strategic adjustments made during the tournament, particularly concerning the hero drafting process. This insight offers a peek behind the curtain of their successful campaign, which notably occurred without their coach, Anatoly “Boolk” Ivanov, present on-site.
Vitalie “Save-” Melnic, the team`s support player, revealed in a post-tournament press conference that the drafting duties were shared with carry player Ivan “Pure~” Moskalenko. This wasn`t a static arrangement but evolved as the tournament progressed.
“Towards the end of PGL Wallachia Season 5, we devised a system where I handled the first pick phase, and Vanya [Pure~] took responsibility for the second pick phase,” Save- explained. He described this approach as “quite unique” but credited it with helping guide the team towards their ultimate victory.
Pure~ elaborated on Save-`s statement, emphasizing that this shared responsibility is rooted in the team`s foundational philosophy. “This team was initially assembled with consideration for three main opinions: Tolya [Boolk], mine, and Vitalik`s [Save-],” Pure~ stated. He added that the tournament represented a culmination where they finally managed to implement this collaborative decision-making fully.
This suggests that while Boolk`s presence was missed, the players were able to leverage their established dynamic and shared understanding to adapt effectively on the fly. The absence of a single, dominant voice in drafting appears to be a deliberate structural choice for the team, allowing for a more collective strategic approach.
PGL Wallachia Season 5 took place from June 21 to 29 in Bucharest, Romania, featuring 16 teams competing for a $1 million prize pool. BetBoom Team emerged as champions, defeating Gaimin Gladiators 3-1 in the grand final and securing the first-place prize of $300,000. Their willingness to adapt their core strategic process, even sharing crucial drafting responsibilities in real-time, proved to be a key factor in navigating the competitive field and achieving this significant win.