BOOM may be the second Filipino team to make playoffs, but they’re here to prove they’re not the second best.
The KIC 2025 group stage closed on a high note for the Philippines as BOOM Esports entered the playoffs after defeating Indonesia’s Kagendra. With the inclusion of Blacklist International, this puts the Philippines’ top two teams into the knockout stage.
Compared to Blacklist’s run however, BOOM’s path to playoffs was much more tumultuous. After narrowly beating Kagendra the first time in the first round of the group stage, BOOM got swept away by Malaysia’s Alpha Gaming despite their best efforts to make an upset. The team took that loss in stride and were able to bounce back strong in their second meeting with Kagendra.
“Walang pressure kami kase alam namin na kaya namin yung lahat ng kalaban sa group namin,” said BOOM Esports’ Top Laner Miguel “Miggie” Banaag in an interview with the media. “Hindi kami naapektuhan ng mga results ng ibang teams. Focused lang kami sa sarili namin.”
“Yung unang tapat namin sa [Kegendra], aminado kami na medyo shaky yung laro namin,” added BOOM Esports’ Jungler Karl “Karlll” Bautista. “Marami talagang mali na nangyari. Pero going into the second meeting, doon kami naging confident na tatalunin namin sila ng mas-malinis. Alam na namin na kaya namin sila talunin.”
While a 3-1 score is better than the 3-2 of their first encounter, BOOM have still shown quite a lot of lapses in their play. There were many close calls in their games against Kagendra – calls that could’ve completely changed the outcome of their matches. But despite that, BOOM were always cool, calm, and confident in their playstyle.
“Siguro meron lang mga lapses going into lategame pero chill pa rin kami,” said BOOM Esports’ Karlll on reflecting on their nail-biting game four victory against Kagendra. That one came down to an opportunistic backdoor play from their Bottom Laner John “Daniii” Bulanadi. Those kinds of close-calls seem to be the norm with BOOM, and that’s the way they like it.
“Alam namin paano laroin yung composition namin and kahit nababawian nila kami, stay composed lang kami.”
And this is just the start for BOOM as they’re not yet satisfied with their performance. They still have a lot to prove and that’s what they’ll be focusing on in the playoffs.
“Nakikita namin na nagi-improve kami so ipapakita namin na hindi lang kami hanggang dito,” said BOOM Esports’ Roamer Reniel “Dr4w” Angara.
Banner photo from Level Infinite.