BetBoom CEO hints at CS roster changes in coming week

Despite just forming in 2022, BetBoom Team has become a force to be reckoned with in Valve esports. The Russian org competes at a high level in both Counter-Strike 2 and Dota 2, and the latter has developed a reputation for ruthless precision and podium finishes. Esports.gg had the pleasure of speaking with the organization's leader to learn more about the team's growth and success.

Read on for our exclusive interview with BetBoom Team CEO Alexander Sevirinov.

esports.gg: Alex, first, congratulations on BetBoom Team’s recent performance. Podium at Dacha Dubai and silver at DreamLeague Season 22. How did you react to those big wins?

Alex: Thanks! First of all, I'm really, really happy with the recent performance of our Dota 2 team. And me personally, I really enjoyed Dacha Dubai because I also was at the event. I had an opportunity to be a part of the group stage and had a ton of fun there. I think the changes we did before the season are starting to show up. We actually understand how we want to play, how we want to develop our team moving forward. And to prepare for Riyadh, or as we call it nowadays, the Esports World Cup.

And [The International] of course. TI is coming to Copenhagen, which is something new. I mean, kind of new, because it's back to Europe. I'm really, really hyped about what's going on to this summer with TI.

We first met at BetBoom Dacha Duba. Was it your first time in the city? What did you think of the event?

It was the second time for me because I was at the first BetBoom Dacha for Counter-Strike which happened a couple of months earlier. I didn't have much time to explore the city, to be honest, because it was kind of pretty hectic and I had a lot of stuff to do. I still don't know how to react to that city. It's something new. It's similar to Moscow from the atmosphere, from how very fast moving everything is to the, how we call it, service quality. I would say it's all pretty good in Dubai.

BetBoom Dacha itself, I really enjoyed it the first time already. The first BetBoom Dacha, which happened in September last year in [Yerevan, Amrenia] was nice. Then they pushed the standard even higher at the CS Dacha, and then they put it even higher. The level of accommodation for everything is really, really good. I should say one of the best tournaments I've been at. I really like the concept of not only watching Dota, but you're also having a lot of opportunities to do different stuff at the venue. You have [PlayStation,] you have snooker, you have pretty much everything not to waste your time during the breaks between the games.

It is a cool opportunity for networking as well because, if you remember [the party where we met,] we were just casually meeting each other. And after that, we had a nice time just talking to each other and learning, having an interesting experience overall.

The BetBoom Dachas are, I would say, a must-have for everyone to be at, but at the same time I also understand why it's not open for viewers. I should just say that I enjoyed the event.

BetBoom Team's Dota 2 division has earned a reputation as highly skilled, but emotional players. Do you agree with that?

I mean, that's kinda true! We can definitely say that we are skilled. And emotions are also part of our gameplay. But, you can't blame emotions. That's the main thing I should say, because emotions can do a lot of harm to your gameplay. But on our [team,] emotions can bring some unexpected moves. They can bring some unexpected plays that your opponent isn't aware of. What I want to say to that is that I think emotions should be balanced.

It should be balanced, and we are definitely working on it. We have been putting a lot of effort into it. And I like the way it is developing right now. And I think we are pretty much gaining the gold standard in terms of emotions and in terms of how it impacts our game.

An interesting trend between both your CS2 and Dota 2 teams is very infrequent roster changes, with just one player swap for the former and a coaching change for the latter. What's the rationale behind that?

It is more of a mutual decision. I'm still responsible for that part of the team and the organization. On the Dota 2 team, we didn't require any changes except for [Matvey "MieRo`" Vasyunin] coming in and trying out while [Ivan "Pure" Moskalenko] is on loan to Tundra. As for CS roster, we are currently expecting some changes to happen, not just [Viacheslav "innersh1ne" Britvin] leaving. I can't say much now, but I think you'll see the announcement this week.

BetBoom Team exclusively competes in Dota 2 and Counter-Strike. Why those games specifically and not, say, PUBG?

Actually, just weeks ago we signed a PUBG team.

Oh.

Yeah. It is a kind of a unique experience for us because we are trying something new. We want to expand to multiple different game titles and we started with this opportunity. We also became a regional partner for PUBG on PC. And we'll be playing the PEC, the European championship. And let's see how it goes, because if we qualify for the events, it will be a really good year for them.

BetBoom Team is closely connected with BetBoom, and some fans are concerned about gambling companies mixing with esports. What do you think?

I mean, we are not like a daughter company or anything. It is very different from what people are thinking and what people are saying. We are fully separate. Basically, we have a main sponsor, which is BetBoom. They have the naming rights, they have the main sponsor rights. So we are pretty much separate organizations like classical esports organizations with sponsors and everything.

It's just the way it works. Our system and our [business development] plan was that we have BetBoom, which is more than enough for us for now But since we're expanding and hiring a lot more people, we require extra budget for everything. We're also expanding our sponsors. Nobody knows what will happen, but as we currently stand, we have BetBoom as our main sponsor and we are not really connected in the way some people are saying it.

Lastly, is there anything you’d like to say to an English-speaking audience?

I really appreciate the support we currently have, especially for the Dota 2 team. And also, for our English-speaking fans, we are slowly expanding and aiming to add English subtitles to all of our videos. I really appreciate it. Hopefully we can bring a lot more content, which will come to the English audience as well.

A special thanks to Alex for speaking with esports.gg.

Stay tuned to esports.gg for the latest updates on all things Dota 2 and Counter-Strike.