Three takeaways from the Southeast Asia regional finals

The Southeast Asia regional finals on Sunday have concluded with Boom Esports taking the top spot. The new superteam formed at the beginning of the season and have now cemented themselves at the top of the region with a 3-1 win against T1.

THE NEW KINGS OF SEA. 👑@boomesportsid.Rivalry are your SEA Dota Pro Circuit: Tour 1 Champions! 🥳

GGs, @jackkydota @YopajDota Fbz @TimsDOTA @skemdota2 ! 🏆 pic.twitter.com/kkKoUHNw5I

— Rivalry SEA (@rivalrySEA) February 13, 2022

T1 do well despite changes at carry

A week ago T1 switched out their carry player, Nuengnara “23savage” Teeramahanon for Kim “Gabbi” Villafuerte Santos. Most didn’t understand the change – 23savage had been a part of T1 for about a year and was well known for his synergy with his lane partner, Matthew “Whitemon” Filemon. However, the addition of Gabbi was not the biggest surprise, as he had been a free agent and played with Carlo “Kuku” Palad when they were both on TNC Predator.

Despite this roster swap, T1 has remained relatively strong throughout the season. They only dropped series against Fnatic and Neon Esports. More importantly, they were able to defeat Boom Esports – the number one team in the region – both in the regular season and in the regional finals. However, in the grand finals Boom Esports quickly disposed of them in a 3-1 victory.

Boom Esports come out of nowhere to shock Southeast Asia regional finals

The new top dog in the Southeast Asian region, Boom Esports have continued their dominance in the regional finals of the Southeast Asian Dota Pro Circuit. They went through major roster changes this season after almost making it to The International 10 through the regional qualifier.

Boom Esports had a full Indonesian roster at the end of last season. The offseason brought Boom several new players. Timothy “Tims” Randrup joined the team as a veteran presence from the now-defunct TNC Predator. Rolen “Skem” Andrei Gabriel Ong and Erin “Yopaj” Jasper Ferrer joined the team from Neon Esports to bring a breath of fresh air. The final piece of the puzzle was Souliya “Jackky” Khoomphetsavong, who was a free agent at the end of last season and was previously released by T1.

Yopaj, in particular, had record-breaking performances during the Southeast Asian regional finals. He had 30 kills vs. SMG, the second-most kills of the entire patch in a sample of 2602 matches, according to datdota.

Kunkka is the Southeast Asian mid king

Kunkka has become one of the most contested picks in the entire region during the regional finals. According to datdota, the hero was either picked or banned in 15/16 games in Southeast Asia.

The Western Europe and South America DPC regions have both contested the hero at a lower rate, nine times each, in comparison to Southeast Asia, which had the hero contested in 15/16 games

Boom Esports’ Yopaj favored the hero more than any other team and was able to successfully pilot it to bring the team to victory in the grand finals. He had no deaths on Kunkka in the first two games that Boom Esports picked it. In the fourth and final game, he put T1 away with a 13/3/20 KDA.