Dota 2: BOOM Esports coach Mushi shines as stand-in in 2-0 sweep over T1
Southeast Asian Dota 2 fans were in for a treat when they tuned into the hype showdown between regional rivals BOOM Esports and T1 on Thursday (7 July).
BOOM played the match with their coach and living legend, Chai "Mushi" Yee Fung, standing in for Rolen Andrei Gabriel "skem" Ong.
It was an important match for both teams as a victory for BOOM puts them in the lead in the 2021-2022 Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) Summer Tour regional league for Southeast Asia while T1 needed to win to keep their hopes of attending the Arlington Major alive.
Mushi reminds us that he's still got it
For newer players who aren't aware of his reputation, Mushi is an icon of the Southeast Asian Dota 2 scene.
He attended the The International (TI) six times during his career as a player and made it to the Top 4 in three of his appearances. Mushi's best placement was during TI3, where he led Orange Esports to a third place finish.
A year since his last match as a professional player, Mushi proved yet again why he is a legend in the Dota 2 scene. He had a phenomenal performance against T1, particularly in the first game as Keeper of the Light.
Despite playing as the BOOM's position 5 support, Mushi had the highest net worth among all supports in the game, more than tripling T1's Matthew "Whitemon" Filemon, playing the same role.
During game one, Mushi focused on doing two things in fights. The first was making sure to spam Chakra Magic on Erin Jasper "Yopaj" Ferrer's Ember Spirit to allow him to keep spamming his spells. Mushi's other job was to bother Kim "Gabbi" Villafuerte on Bristleback, which he did by relentlessly targeting him with Solar Bind.
It was a perfect showcase of how effective a well-played Keeper of the Light can be.
Mushi ended the series opener with only one death as well as four kills and 17 assists to his name. Mushi was such a threat in the first game of the series that T1 made sure to ban his Keeper of the Light in the draft of game two.
Game two was a little more challenging for BOOM Esports, as T1 picked a more mobile draft in order to play more aggressively. This playstyle suited T1 as they managed to hold the lead for the first 20 minutes of the game.
While Mushi's performance on Winter Wyvern in game two wasn't as explosive as his game one performance, he still managed to shine and land a game-winning Winter's Curse at the 33-minute mark.
Mushi's timely ultimate prevented T1 from saving Gabbi and gave BOOM their first teamwipe of the game.
BOOM managed to snowball their way to the 2-0 series sweep after that crushing teamfight victory.
T1 tapped out 10 minutes later as they had no control of the map and no chance of making a comeback.
After the match was over, Yopaj sat down for an interview with the panel. When asked how it felt to play with Mushi, the midlaner replied that it was just the same as playing with Skem, "It's really fun to play with Mushi, it looks like we were playing with Skem. They are just the same."
We wonder if Yopaj said that because Mushi was in the background keeping an eye on his teammate.
Thanks to their 2-0 victory over T1, BOOM Esports is now tied with Talon Esports for first place in the league, each team has a record of 5-1.
BOOM Esports' next opponent will be Fnatic on Saturday (9 July). Winning that match will guarantee them a spot in the Arlington Major as well as a good shot at finishing the Summer Tour atop the Southeast Asian regional league.
BOOM Esports roster:
Souliya "JaCkky" Khoomphetsavong
Erin Jasper "Yopaj" Ferrer
Saieful "Fbz" Ilham
Timothy "Tims" Randrup
Andrei "skem" Ong
Chai "Mushi" Yee Fung (coach/stand-in)
T1 roster:
Kim "Gabbi" Villafuerte Santos
Karl "Karl" Matthew Baldovino
Carlo "Kuku" Palad
Kenny "Xepher" Deo
Matthew "Whitemon" Filemon
Otomo is a long-time gaming enthusiast and caster. He has been playing games since he was 10 and is the biggest Dota 2 fan.
For more esports news updates, visit https://yhoo.it/YahooEsportsSEA and check out Yahoo Esports Southeast Asia’s Facebook page and Twitter, as well as our Gaming channel on YouTube.
