There’s always a bit of extra spice when old teammates meet again, and this clash was no exception. In the ESL Challenger League Season 50 Europe, Cup 1, BetBoom Team came out on top against BC.Game, sending s1mple and co. down to the lower bracket with a 2–1 victory.
To make things even juicier, BetBoom’s in-game leader Boombl4, who used to captain s1mple back in their NAVI days, outperformed the superstar AWPer in this series, finishing with a higher rating. For fans who remember their time together, watching the ex-captain get the better of his former teammate made the result sting even more for s1mple.
🙃s1mple lost to his former captain 1-2 in maps!
And his rating turned out to be lower than Boombl4’s pic.twitter.com/7wuaNILYLE
— CS2 NEWS (@CS2News_EN) August 16, 2025
How the Match Played Out
The series kicked off on Mirage, BC.Game’s pick, and things looked promising for them. After a tight opening, they pulled ahead and closed it 13–7. But that early momentum didn’t last.
On Nuke, BetBoom looked like a completely different squad. They dominated from the start, storming to a 9–3 lead in the first half and barely giving BC.Game room to breathe. A quick 13–3 equalised the series and set us up for a tense decider.
The final map on Dust2 was where BetBoom showed real composure. With the first half ending 7–5, the Russians carried their edge into the closing rounds and sealed it 13–7, booking their spot in the semifinals.
Image via HLTV.org
What’s Next
For s1mple and BC.Game, the road isn’t over just yet. They’ve dropped into the lower bracket, where they’ll face OG on August 26 in a do-or-die battle. BetBoom, meanwhile, will take on Zero Tenacity on August 27 with a chance to move one step closer to the final.
The ESL Challenger League Season 50 Europe, Cup 1 runs until September 2, with 34 teams battling online for a $25,000 prize pool and, more importantly, a ticket to the Regional Final where an EPL S23 spot is up for grabs.