BetBoom Team support Vitaly "Save-" Melnik commented on the team's performance in the group stage of the Riyadh Masters 2024 in Dota 2. He highlighted the main issues that led to their results.
"I'm not entirely satisfied with the results. Honestly, I didn't expect us to play very well in this tournament because our scrim win rate wasn't the best. So I'm a realist. I won't blindly believe we'll come and beat everyone. Given how we're playing in this tournament, making it to the lower bracket is okay. At least we didn't get knocked out."
"[So this is a normal result, in your opinion?] Yes. We're playing according to Lukawa's pre-tournament setup. He said there are many examples of teams gaining momentum during a tournament. [Are we that kind of team?] We strive to be."
"[Why such a result in the group?] I think the mistake was scheduling so many scrims with the Falcons. It might have thrown some people off track. So the mood wasn't very positive when we went to this tournament. Maybe if we had scrimped with other teams, we would have arrived in a better frame of mind. We wanted to scrimp with the strongest, we said: 'With Falcons? Let's schedule more.' Maybe this ultimately buried this team. I can't say we arrived in bad form. Just some of us had absurd things happening in this tournament regarding builds and gameplay."
"[Is this due to stress?] No, just mistakes in builds, and some movements on the map. As usual, basics. Although we discuss builds before games, in many matches we couldn't pick ideal builds for some heroes. Maybe we would have won some maps if we assembled better."
"[What will you do in the playoffs?] Gain momentum during the tournament. We can review all our replays from these games. Maybe play some more scrims, I don't know. Just approach the official matches in the lower bracket with a focus on all aspects we know. And believe this will lead us to victory," said Vitaly "Save-" Melnik.
BetBoom Team advanced to the lower bracket playoffs, barely overcoming the group stage with a 5-9 score. The team's opponent in the next stage will be determined on July 16 after the winners' matches conclude.
The Riyadh Masters 2024 runs from July 4 to 21 in Saudi Arabia, with participants competing for $5 million. Team Spirit from Eastern Europe also competes in the tournament, advancing to the upper-bracket playoffs.