Interview with BOOM Esports: A chat with the Head Coach and IGL prior to the team’s appearance in the APAC Predator League
Late last year, Indonesian team BOOM Esports participated in the Indonesian Qualifier for the Predator League Asia Pacific tournament. BOOM breezed through the Qualifier without dropping a single map. They won the Grand Finals 3–0 over ARF TEAM to advance to the Group Stage of the Predator League, where they will face off against teams from countries around the Asia-Pacific region for a chance at over $60,000.
BOOM was placed in Group C along with Exceeli Esports (Bangladesh), Team NKT (Thailand), and ZOL Esports (Philippines). They will play each team across the span of two days, with the winner of each group advancing to the Playoffs. The Group Stage is set to start on January 10th, with BOOM’s first matchup being against Team NKT.
We sat down with BOOM’s Coach Ji “meow” Dong-jun and IGL Hildegard “Shiro” Arnaldo to ask them some questions prior to the first match of the Predator League.
Questions with the Coach of BOOM Esports
In order to qualify for the Group Stage of the Predator League, you guys competed in the Indonesian Qualifier and were able to win without much trouble. What differences do you expect here in the Main Stage?
Meow (Coach): Obviously, it’ll be a lot more difficult because we will be playing against winners from each country. However, we will still be looking to dominate the Main Stage like we did in Indonesia.
What strategies and tactics have you been focusing on during the team’s preparation or this tournament? How do you plan to adapt based on the opponents you will face?
Meow (Coach): For strategy, we aren’t focusing on every single map in the map pool since the Group Stage matches are best of ones (picks and bans will help eliminate maps). We’ll instead be focusing on certain maps to become stronger on them.
In your opinion, what are the key qualities a successful coach should possess in order to lead a team to victory?
Meow (Coach): A quality Coach needs to be a leader and guide for his team. He also needs to understand and teach the basic fundamentals properly, so the team can further grow and built through it
Questions with the IGL of BOOM Esports
As an IGL, you are always trying to lead your players in game with strats or tips. Can you share any specific areas in which you have identified strengths and weakness within the team, and how you have been working on improving them?
Shiro (IGL): One of our strengths is when we fight together as a team while entering or defending site, it’s very much on sync. One of our weaknesses is when we overheat by getting too excited, which often leads to us throwing the round. However, we try to fix this everyday in practice.
How do you handle conflicts or disagreements within the team? How do you maintain team morale and ensure everyone is motivated and committed towards achieving the shared goals?
Shiro (IGL): The conflicts within the team are pretty easy to solve. We usually just talk it out after the scrims and tell each other our opinions about the play and which one is best suitable.
In your opinion, what are the key qualities a successful IGL should possess in order to lead a team to victory?
Shiro (IGL): Being vocal is important so you can lead properly and control the team to reduce mistakes. Other then that, make sure to have high self-confidence so you can be sure to know what the plan is and explain it to others.
Questions for both Meow and Shiro
How much have you prepared for the Group Stage? Maybe a new game look, moral training, or strats and gamestyle changes?
Meow (Coach): We can’t say we’re 100% perfect for this tournament, but we did prepare enough to beat all the other teams competing.
Shiro (IGL): For preparation, we’re going to add more plays and better our mentality to be better motivated. We’re also going to anti-strat better.
Is there a team participating in this tournament that you can highlight?
Meow (Coach): It’ll of course be Team Secret because they are the only franchise team that will be competing in the event. We can’t wait to play against them.
Shiro (IGL): Team Secret and Oasis Gaming based on what I saw recently. Their game seems really solid.
How do you motivate the players before and after the tournament to perform at their best and maintain a positive mindset, even during difficult matches?
Meow (Coach): By making them feel calm and happy, so if something wrong is happening in the game, they can easily bounce back and reset their mental.
Shiro (IGL): In some situations, we will just cheer and hype each other up after a good round to keep up the good mental.
Can you describe any particular challenges or obstacles you’ve faced as a Coach and IGL?
Meow (Coach): The language barrier within the team, since they speak Indonesian in game and I can’t understand it. This isn’t a big problem though, since two other coaches assist with the translating.
Shiro (IGL): Maintaining the focus of others and trying to handle the situation within the team better.
How would you evaluate the success or progress of the team in the past few tournaments and what are your expectations for the upcoming Predator League tournament?
Meow (Coach): My evaluation so far is that we have a lot of talent within our team, but we haven’t fully shown it all yet. We hope in this tournament to step up and show everyone the full potential of BOOM Esports. Our expectation is to win it all, not take second place as an answer.
Shiro (IGL): The last tournament we played in, the Indonesian Qualifier for the Predator League, didn’t exceed our expectations. In this upcoming tournament, we will be more ready than before.
Article written and edited by Bade, interview done by FoxLoveMe.
