Boom Esports started strong, but they lost steam halfway through.
Group B matches are complete – and we have the full standings up to this point for the group. OpTic Gaming met up with Boom Esports in their opening match, and what a match it was. The top-ranked team from the North American circuit meeting up with the plucky wild card from APAC? Let’s see what they can offer to fans.
Starting off with Breeze, the two teams were evenly matched – to the point that the first overtime was called for in Champions Istanbul. Optic pushed hard to lead, but Boom Esports just had a slight advantage and came in front, winning the map 18-16.
Bind was where everything fell apart for Boom Esports. OpTic immediately went into aggressor mode when they won a whopping eight rounds back-to-back before Boom Esports can even slip in for a point of their own. By the time the first half ended, OpTic was ahead by eight points. Boom tried to catch up in the second half, but by round 18, the writing was on the wall for OpTic’s win over Boom Esports 13-5.
It was a similar story in Fracture, the third map. Boom actually won the first two rounds, but two back-to-back wins of five and four rounds respectively put OpTic squarely in the lead by the end of the first half. Boom was overwhelmed by OpTic in the second half and by round 16, the match was over for the Indonesians. OpTic won 13-3.
The win has placed OpTic as the leader of Group B, knocking off LOUD from their earlier match, and Boom is now at the bottom of the table. They will be meeting ZETA DIVISION to see which team will be eliminated in the Elimination Match, scheduled for 5 September.
VCT Champions Istanbul is happening from 31 August until 18 September in Istanbul, with the Playoffs set to be played in front of a live audience at Volkswagen Arena from 9 September 2022.
