BetBoom Team has officially announced Artem “Pioneer” Saveliev as its new Chief Executive Officer, marking a fresh chapter for the esports organisation as it looks ahead to the 2026 competitive season.

Meet the new CEO of BetBoom Team – Artem “Pioneer” Saveliev

“I could say we’ll easily win TI and make playoffs at every Major… but I won’t promise miracles – there’s a lot of work ahead. Step by step, we’ll move toward our goals in a structured, systematic way. The team already… pic.twitter.com/ZizA4D3OqO

— BetBoom Team (@BetBoomTeam) December 29, 2025

The move sees Pioneer step into the CEO role following the departure of Alexander “Dyrem” Sevirinov, who had led the organisation since 2023. BetBoom confirmed the appointment through a post on X, welcoming Pioneer to the role and expressing confidence that more stories, emotions, and trophies lie ahead.

Pioneer’s Measured Vision for BetBoom Team

In his first public comments as CEO, Pioneer struck a calm and realistic tone about the road ahead. Speaking in BetBoom Team’s announcement, he made it clear that success would come through structure and long term planning rather than bold promises.

“I could say we’ll easily win TI and make playoffs at every Major, but I won’t promise miracles. There’s a lot of work ahead. Step by step, we’ll move toward our goals in a structured, systematic way,” Pioneer said.

He added that the organisation already has a strong foundation, and his focus will be on helping it grow further and unlock its full potential in the new season.

Before his promotion, Pioneer had served as BetBoom Team’s Head of Esports, Influence, and Media, a position he has held since 2021. His long standing involvement with the organisation gives him deep familiarity with its teams, staff, and competitive ambitions.

Reflecting on Dyrem’s Tenure

While celebrating Pioneer’s promotion, BetBoom Team also took time to acknowledge the achievements of outgoing CEO Alexander “Dyrem” Sevirinov during his two year tenure.

Under Dyrem’s leadership, the organisation enjoyed several notable milestones. The Dota 2 roster secured a top four finish at The International 2025, the PUBG squad claimed victory at PUBG Global Series 8, and the Counter-Strike 2 lineup qualified for the BLAST.tv Austin Major, earning valuable exposure and team stickers.

Dyrem shared a farewell message alongside the announcement, thanking everyone who had been part of his journey with the organisation and wishing BetBoom Team continued success and growth as their paths diverge.

What’s Next for BetBoom Team in 2026

BetBoom Team currently fields rosters across three core esports divisions, Dota 2, Counter-Strike 2, and PUBG, all of which face busy schedules heading into 2026.

In Dota 2, the team closed out the 2025 season at DreamLeague Season 27 but exited during the group stage after missing out on a top eight finish. Looking forward, qualification for DreamLeague Season 28, PGL Wallachia Season 7, and ESL One Birmingham will be key targets.

The PUBG roster finished 11th out of 33 teams at the PUBG Global Championship, the final major event of the season. Attention now turns to potential invitations for PUBG Global Series 11 and 12, scheduled for March 2026.

Meanwhile, BetBoom Team’s Counter-Strike 2 lineup recently placed eighth at the CCT Season 3 European Series. Their 2026 campaign begins with the BLAST Bounty Winter 2026 Closed Qualifier, where the goal is to secure a spot at the LAN Finals.

With Pioneer now at the helm, BetBoom Team appears set for a steady and methodical push toward sustained success across all of its competitive divisions.

The post BetBoom Team Appoints Pioneer as New CEO appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

The stage is officially set for BLAST Slam IV, with all 12 Dota 2 teams locked in for the tournament kicking off on October 14th in Singapore.

BLAST confirmed the final slot has gone to BetBoom Team, joining a stacked roster of international powerhouses and regional champions competing for a share of the $1 million USD prize pool.

The Teams Competing at BLAST Slam IV

Seven teams have been directly invited, while five others fought their way through regional qualifiers. Here’s the full line-up:

Invited Teams:

• Talon Esports
• Team Liquid
• Team Falcons
• PARAVISION
• Tundra Esports
• Team Spirit
• BetBoom Team

Qualified Teams:

• HEROIC – Americas
• Natus Vincere – Europe
• Aurora Gaming – Europe
• Yakult Brothers – China
• Team Aureus – Southeast Asia

We now have our 12 teams for BLAST SLAM IV.

See you on Oct 14th. 🇸🇬 pic.twitter.com/Q47hS0nV44

— BLAST Slam (@BLASTDota) September 30, 2025

BetBoom’s Road Back

BetBoom Team enters the tournament with strong momentum. The squad lifted the trophy at PGL Wallachia Season 5 in June after a 3-1 win over Gaimin Gladiators, and earlier in April, they took down the same team 3-0 to win FISSURE Universe Episode 4.

Although BetBoom stumbled in past BLAST Slam events, they do have a history of success, having claimed the very first BLAST Slam title with a 3-1 victory over Tundra Esports. Now, they’ll be aiming to repeat that triumph on the Singapore stage.

Format and Schedule

The action begins with the online Group Stage from October 14th to 19th, where all 12 teams will battle it out in a best-of-one round robin format.

• The top two teams will head straight to the Semi-finals.
• Teams ranked third to eighth move into the Play-In stage.
• The remaining four are relegated to the Last Chance Playoffs, where only two will survive and rejoin the competition.

The Playoffs kick off on November 7th with a single-elimination bracket, leading up to the Grand Final on November 9th, where the BLAST Slam IV champion will be crowned.

Where to Watch

Fans can catch every match live on the official BLAST Slam Dota 2 Twitch and YouTube channels, with Singapore set to host what promises to be another thrilling chapter in the Dota 2 calendar.

The post BLAST Slam IV Dota 2 All 12 Teams Revealed appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

FISSURE has confirmed the first wave of directly invited teams for the upcoming FISSURE Playground 2 – Dota tournament in Belgrade, Serbia. With the closed qualifiers still underway, these squads won’t need to battle through early brackets and will head straight into the group stage.

The eight invited lineups are some of the biggest names in the Dota 2 scene: BetBoom Team, Parivision, Tundra Esports, Heroic, Nigma Galaxy, Team Liquid, Team Spirit, and Team Falcons. More teams will join them later once the qualifiers wrap up.

The group stage runs from 23 to 27 October, followed by the playoffs from 28 October to 2 November, all leading up to the grand showdown inside Belgrade’s Sava Centar. The venue’s Blue Hall can host 4,000 fans, ensuring plenty of space and atmosphere for Dota 2 supporters.

🏆Announcing the directly invited teams for FISSURE PLAYGROUND 2 — DOTA!

Less than a month left until the group stage of FISSURE PLAYGROUND 2 — DOTA kicks off!

While the closed qualifiers are still underway, we’re excited to announce the teams that will be directly invited to… pic.twitter.com/HWQbQ8GZlV

— FISSURE_ENG (@fissure_eng) September 28, 2025

A Million-Dollar Prize Pool

With a total US$1,000,000 prize pool, Playground 2 is one of the most lucrative Dota 2 events outside of The International. The tournament promises not only top-tier competition but also a festival-style fan experience, complete with autograph sessions, gaming zones, chill areas, and exclusive merchandise.

Ticket Information

Fans heading to Belgrade have three ticket options to choose from:

• Newbie Pass (1-day) – Access for a single day, free seating by sector, and entry to autograph sessions.
• Pro Pass (3-day) – Full access from 31 October to 2 November, free seating, and autograph sessions.
• Legend Pass (VIP 3-day) – Includes all access plus priority autograph sessions and a merch pack (hoodie, stickers, poster tube, pins, and keychain).

Tickets are already on sale through the official FISSURE Playground site.

Big Names in the Mix

The invited list features several heavy hitters with recent championship pedigree. Team Falcons, who recently claimed their first-ever Aegis of the Immortal by winning The International 2025, will be one of the headline attractions in Belgrade.

With the likes of Falcons, Team Spirit, and Team Liquid already confirmed, fans can expect fierce rivalries and plenty of hype heading into one of the final big tournaments before the year wraps up.

The post Eight Teams Receive Direct Invites for Dota FISSURE Playground 2 appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev’s highly-anticipated return to top-level Counter-Strike has been nothing short of a rollercoaster. The CS:GO legend, now testing his skills in CS2 with BC.Game, made it all the way to the Grand Final of Exort The Proving Grounds Season 3. But despite flashes of brilliance, his debut tournament ended in a double-overtime defeat to BetBoom Team.

A mixed start with BC.Game

S1mple’s run with BC.Game had its ups and downs right from the opening match. He started slow against CYBERSHOKE, finishing at the bottom of the leaderboard, though the team managed a reverse-sweep to stay alive. From there, his form spiked and dipped: a huge 1.53 rating carried them past Spirit Academy, before a nightmare performance against Partizan saw BC.Game pushed to the edge.

When it mattered most, though, s1mple showed up. Wins over ARCRED, ENCE, and another clean sweep against Spirit Academy put him firmly back on top of the scoreboards. His quarterfinal against Spirit Academy was vintage s1mple, posting a massive 1.71 rating. That form continued into the semis, where BC.Game swept OG 2–0 to punch their ticket to the Grand Final.

Image via HLTV.org

Familiar faces in the Grand Final

The final itself carried extra weight. On the other side of the server was BetBoom, led by Kirill “Boombl4” Mikhaylov, s1mple’s former NAVI teammate. Their recent history wasn’t pretty either, BC.Game had already been knocked down by BetBoom in the ESL Challenger League qualifiers earlier this month.

BetBoom came out swinging on Mirage, BC.Game’s pick, locking it down 13–4. S1mple still managed a respectable 94.5 ADR and a 1.12 rating, but it wasn’t enough to stop the bleed.

The real drama came on Nuke. Both teams refused to budge in regulation, trading rounds until the game pushed to double overtime. S1mple produced some classic highlight moments to keep BC.Game in the fight, but BetBoom finally closed it out 19–16, taking the series 2–0.

Image via HLTV.org

Numbers behind the story

Despite the loss, s1mple still put up the highest rating on his team across the final (1.17 with a +2 K-D). He also led the entire server in opening duels with a ridiculous 13–2 record, showing that even after a long break, his impact is still undeniable.

Across the whole event, s1mple finished with a 1.22 rating over 17 maps, more than any other player in the top seven of the tournament rankings. That workload, paired with HLTV’s new 3.0 ranking system, makes his numbers harder to judge, but it’s clear he was a driving force behind BC.Game’s Grand Final run.

The best individual on the day, though, was BetBoom’s Kirill “Magnojez” Rodnov, who dropped 53 kills and 32 deaths in the final with a monstrous 1.55 rating.

What’s next?

BC.Game won’t have long to dwell on the loss. The squad is still grinding through qualifiers for ESL Challenger League Season 50, where they’ll clash with OG on 26 August at 19:00 CEST. And with s1mple already making his mark in his very first event, fans will be eager to see whether the GOAT can settle in and return to his dominant best.

The post S1mple’s First Final with BC.Game Ends in Grand Final Heartbreak appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

The International 2025 is almost here, but before Dota 2 fans set their sights fully on Germany, there’s one more stop on the road, FISSURE Universe Episode 6.

From 19–24 August, ten teams will battle it out online in what’s shaping up to be the final big test before the biggest tournament of the year. Eight of these squads are heading straight to TI 2025, making this event a rare sneak peek at what we might see in Berlin.

Next FISSURE Universe episode announcement? Yes, please! 🫡

The tournament kicks off with the Play-in stage, taking place from July 23 to 27. All 10 participating teams will receive direct invites, but only the top two will advance to the Main Stage.

The Main Stage will run… pic.twitter.com/ECPkDZ5HFS

— FISSURE_ENG (@fissure_eng) July 4, 2025

Who’s Playing?

The line-up is stacked. Here’s who’s in:

• Team Liquid
• PARIVISION
• Team Spirit
• Aurora Gaming
• BetBoom Team
• Team Tidebound
• Gaimin Gladiators
• Team Falcons
• Virtus.pro
• AVULUS

That’s a mix of proven champions, rising challengers, and a couple of teams looking to make a statement before the main stage lights go up.

Main stage of FISSURE Universe Ep. 6 is coming! 🔥

Announcing the participating teams for the upcoming group stage!

Invited:@TeamLiquid @parivisiongg @AuroraDota2_GG @TSpirit_Dota2@BetBoomTeam@TeamFalconsGG@TeamTidebound @GaiminGladiator

Play-in finalists:… pic.twitter.com/N5VA4j7Ck3

— FISSURE_ENG (@fissure_eng) August 8, 2025

The Format and Stakes

The group stage runs from 19–22 August, with two groups of five teams playing a round-robin, best-of-two format.

• Top team in each group → straight to the upper bracket.
• Second & third place → drop into the lower bracket.
• Bottom two in each group → out before playoffs.

From there, it’s a double-elimination bracket over the weekend, with the grand final being a best-of-five. The total prize pool? A tidy $250,000 USD, with the winner taking home $125,000. Here’s the breakdown.

Storylines to Watch

Fresh off their win at the Clavision Masters 2025, Tidebound are rolling into this event with serious momentum. But the rest of the field won’t be making life easy for them. Team Spirit and Gaimin Gladiators have proven they can show up when it matters most, while Liquid are always a threat in any format.

.@TeamTidebound have claimed their first tier-1 trophy by winning the Clavision Snow-Ruyi Masters. It is also CNDOTA’s back-to-back champions in the city of Zhangjiakou. #DOTA2 #SnowRuyi #Clavision #Tidebound pic.twitter.com/zlCmv7DMDv

— ONWEAR (@ONWEARGG) August 6, 2025

The new patch is still fresh, which means we could see some bold draft experiments as teams fine-tune their TI playbooks. For fans, it’s a win-win, top-tier competition, fresh strategies, and the chance to spot meta shifts before the world’s biggest Dota 2 event.

Where to Watch

All matches will be streamed live in English on FISSURE’s Kick channel, so you won’t have to miss a single play.

With just weeks to go before The International, FISSURE Universe Episode 6 isn’t just another tournament, it’s the last real dress rehearsal. Expect surprises, upsets, and maybe even a few mind games as teams get ready for the ultimate showdown.

The post DOTA 2 FISSURE Universe Episode 6: The Last Dance Before TI 2025 appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

A Fresh Start for s1mple

Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev is back in action, making his debut for BC.Game in the Proving Grounds Season 3. It’s his first official match since the Austin Major 2025, where he stood in for FaZe Clan but failed to make the playoffs. After a short break from competition, he returned at the end of July with BC.Game.

IT’S HAPPENING…@s1mpleO WILL play. TOMORROW. 🤩

Catch ALL the action in our Twitch channel 👇 pic.twitter.com/qpUANdmUOT

— BC Game Esports (@BCGameEsports) August 9, 2025

Mixed Performance on Debut

BC.Game claimed a 2–1 series win over CYBERSHOKE, but it wasn’t a flawless showing from the CS2 superstar.

BCGame pick up a win on s1mple’s debut 👏 pic.twitter.com/nMpl1EIO9A

— HLTV.org (@HLTVorg) August 10, 2025

Statistically, s1mple had the lowest HLTV rating in the squad (1.01), along with the weakest ADR and KAST.

Image via HLTV.org

However, he shone in the opening duels, winning 13 and losing only 3, a stat that helped keep BC.Game in control during key rounds.

The Standout Moment

One highlight came in the final pistol round on Ancient. With the map still in the balance, s1mple secured a tough frag before covering nexa during a bomb defuse. That clutch protection boosted BC.Game’s economy and allowed them to close the map 13–8.

Blaming the Anti-Cheat

After losing the first map, s1mple explained his struggles in his Telegram channel, pointing to technical issues.
According to him, the anti-cheat caused his game to freeze around ten times. “Now we know what online gaming is all about,”

😔 s1mple explained the reason behind the loss in his Telegram channel: it’s all because of the anti-cheat. pic.twitter.com/lUgCDN6vyl

— CS2 NEWS (@CS2News_EN) August 10, 2025

What’s Next in Proving Grounds S3

The Proving Grounds Season 3 is being held online from August 10 to 22, with $86.6k in prize money and ranked VRS points up for grabs. Big names like BetBoom Team, Fnatic, OG, and ENCE are already set for the playoffs, so there’s plenty more CS2 action ahead.

The post s1mple Wins First Match with BC.Game Despite Performance Struggles and Anti-Cheat Issues appeared first on Shane the Gamer.