We break down the results of our epic five-game Grand Final series.
After the action-packed series in the Lower Bracket finals, it was time for BOOM and Tundra to come face to face.
With over $270k USD on the line, it was a fight to the finish. As both Tundra Esports and BOOM Esports gave their all to take the prize home for either EU or SEA.
After five gruelling games, we had a winner. And it was BOOM who lifted the trophy.
Let’s break down how it happened.
Game One
Our first map got off to a slow start, BOOM had taken a Troll Warlord for Souliya “JaCkky” Khoomphetsavong. That ran into some trouble against Jingjun “Sneyking” Wu and Oliver “skiter” Lepko’s Io/Gyro combo.
Tundra took the laning phase easily, securing themselves a 7k gold lead by the 20-minute mark. And as the mid-game kicked on, things were looking bad for BOOM; with only 8 kills on the board. On the other hand, Tundra were sitting at double digits, and it seemed like there was no tricks for the SEA squad to pull out of their hat. Tundra took Game 1 just before the clock hit 33 minutes, with a final score of 8-23, in a dominant start to the Grand Finals.
Game Two
We saw a stronger draft from BOOM this time. Erin Jasper “Yopaj” Ferrer took Invoker to mid, while Rolen Andrei Gabriel “skem” Ong ran a Weaver support. Though Tundra’s draft didn’t look bad at all with another skiter Gyrocopter. And they snagged Abaddon support for Sneyking too.
Once the game took off. Kills were 1 for 1 within the first 3-minutes with Tundra taking first blood. From there BOOM started to take control of the lanes, earning themselves a 1k advantage in the gold by 6 minutes. By 15 minutes, they’d pushed that lead to 2k. Tundra put up a fight, but they never managed to gain the ground they needed. As the game his the 26-minute mark, BOOM’s net worth lead ballooned to 10k. They had the farm and the control, and it was only a matter of time before they had the game. At 34-minutes they equalized the series with a 20-kill lead, as Tundra called GG.
Game Three
Tundra took first blood, but our third game of the series started off close in the lanes with the kills at 3-3 by 9 minutes in. Still, BOOM’s pick for JaCkky, this time Juggernaut, was causing problems yet again.
This was a rinse and repeat of Game One. Or perhaps Game Two with the tables turned.
Tundra achieved control of the map soon after the end of the lanes; utilizing smokes well to set up team fights and pick offs. By the mid-game they’d pinned BOOM into the Radiant side of the map. Effectively denying their cores the farm they needed to really get off the ground. Leon “Nine” Kirilin’s Timbersaw on the hand, was practically unstoppable, carving up the field in both the literal and figurative sense. Nine’s final K/D/A was 13/2/8 by game’s end, and you couldn’t help but wonder why BOOM had let the Timber slip through the bans in draft.
It was an easy sweep for Tundra, who brought our Grand Final series to 2-1, just before the 34-minute mark.
Game Four
Our next game saw some interesting picks in the drafting phase, with Tundra taking Broodmother for Neta “33” Shapira and Chaos Knight for skiter. Nine took Mars mid lane, while the team’s support ran a Death Prophet for Sneyking with Martin “Saksa” Sazdov on a Grimstroke.
Meanwhile BOOM were running a Templar Assassin for Yopaj in mid. Backed up very nicely with a Bristleback on JaCkky and Keeper of the Light on Skem. And Saieful “fbz” Ilham playing Sand King had a Timothy “TIMS” Randrup Hoodwink for support.
The result saw a vicious back and forth through the game’s first 20 minutes; with the kills almost beat for beat. An early Rosh for BOOM helped see a megakill streak for Yopaj at 23 minutes. But Tundra were sticking close to them. Still BOOM had the net worth lead – up to 14k at 25 minutes.
Even with the mobility from Brood and the lockdown from Mars, Tundra just couldn’t seem to keep that TA’s farm from climbing. They pushed for the high ground at 27 minutes and Tundra bowed down. BOOM had taken the fourth map, once again bringing the series to a tie.
Game Five
Our final map saw BOOM bring the Yopaj TA and TIMS Hoodwink to the table in the draft yet again. Although this time they also switched things up slightly with Skem on Grimstroke, Brewmaster for fbz and JaCkky running Razor this time.
Tundra seemed to be making a statement with their draft choices, nabbing some of the SEA squad’s picks from the previous games. Juggernaut went to skiter, Disruptor for Sneyking and 33 took Sandking. Saksa ran Doom. And then of course, the intriguing final pick Jakiro for Nine.
With everything on the line, both teams came in cautious. The first kill went to Tundra and came after 7 minutes. But BOOM weren’t far behind, taking 2-kills soon after. Followed by some beautiful dukes by TIMS which left skiter victim to a pick off and helping BOOM earn themselves a 1k gold advantage by 10 minutes.
Still, Tundra wasn’t about to let BOOM get carried away. At 15 minutes, the kills were 7-7 and BOOM were struggling to boost their lead any higher. It was a back-and-forth bloodbath. BOOM were still only 2k ahead as they pushed into the Rosh pit at 23 minutes. Now, with the Aegis on Yopaj, the SEA boys could finally start to put some distance between themselves in Tundra in both the kills and the net worth.
BOOM took the second Rosh just past 30 minutes, and took the attack straight to the high ground, taking Dire’s top lane T3 and the ranged barracks. Although Tundra initially managed to repel the assault and burn down the Aegis. They didn’t manage to send BOOM packing, and after a quick regroup, they came back to finish what they started. Leaving Tundra full rax down by 37 minutes.
Tundra did their best to hold on, but BOOM was relentless. At 40 minutes they took the mid rax, with an 18k lead in the net worth. The third Rosh melted soon after and BOOM once again pushed into Tundra’s base. This time, Tundra bought back, wiping 4 of BOOM’s side of the map.
It would not be enough to stop the onslaught, however.
After a dominating run in the Lower Bracket , @boomesportsid take the Grand Finals and are now the crowned champions of the #GAMERSGALAXY: Dota 2 Invitational Series Dubai 2022!!!!
What an event we’ve had, what a run they had! pic.twitter.com/Su1z1OOZs4
— GAMERS GALAXY:Dota2 Invitational Series Dubai 2022 (@GalaxyRacerDxb) March 6, 2022
BOOM continued to push, taking the fight straight to the ancient as soon as they regrouped. Just before the 48-minute mark, BOOM Esports claimed the final victory in the Grand Finals of the Dota 2 Gamers Galaxy Series Invitational 2022.
A heartbreaking end to Tundra’s story in Dubai, but an amazing result for the SEA team. Who prove that they’re not a force to be trifled with next DPC season.
If you’ve missed out on any of the fantastic series from earlier in the tournament, catch up with our recaps!