With a 2-1 victory over Nigma Galaxy, BetBoom Team advance to The International 2025's upper bracket semifinals to face Team Falcons.

Eastern European Dota 2 powerhouse BetBoom Team has advanced to the upper bracket semifinals of The International (TI) 2025, reverse sweeping fan-favourites Nigma Galaxy, 2–1, in their second encounter of the tournament.

Nigma Galaxy entered the tournament as one of the lower tier teams, barely making it into the year’s championship via the regional qualifier. While the roster boasts immense star power with veteran TI champions on board—they’re visibly lackluster compared to the tournament’s top contenders.

Throughout the event, Nigma has been hard to read, occasionally delivering brilliant plays but also giving plenty of questionable moments. The team has become notorious for letting go of winning advantages, even being statistically recorded as the team with the most “throws” during the Road to The International 2025, according to Dota 2 stats analyst Noxville

In terms of track record, BetBoom Team were the clear favorite. They’ve been consistent over the past few years, consistently finishing near the top at major LANs. At TI 2025, BetBoom dropped only one series in the Group Stage—ironically against Nigma Galaxy in the tournament’s opening series.

This time, however, BetBoom claimed their sweet revenge on the Main Stage, winning in the only Playoffs series so far to go to three games. Despite dropping the opening map, BetBoom withstood Nigma’s early momentum, regrouped, and turned the series around to take a hard-fought 2-1 victory.

BetBoom Team outlast Nigma Galaxy 2-1 in Playoffs opening

This series saw plenty of nail-biting moments for fans on both sides. In the opening game, Nigma Galaxy played confidently, reading BetBoom’s movements well. They huddled around Tony “No!ob” Assaf’s Beastmaster, who was very durable in the early game. In several skirmishes, they managed to kite out BetBoom’s spells and initiations—then countered it swiftly to get kills.

Eventually, Daniel Chan “Ghost” Kok Hong’s Troll Warlord came online, and after an easy Aegis pickup, they launched a high ground assault at 35 minutes. Nigma managed to grab two lanes of barracks unharmed, as BetBoom struggled to respond.

After a lengthy standoff—during which BetBoom hesitated to leave their base and Nigma continued racking up resources—a final high ground push began at 60 minutes. The final fight could’ve gone south many times, but Maroun “GH” Merhej’s clutch Supernova saves left BetBoom exhausted, with no answers to their push.

In the next game, Nigma dominated the early stage, bringing in numbers to punish lanes—specifically targeting Ivan “Pure” Moskalenko’s Faceless Void multiple times. This gave Ghost’s Terrorblade the space to free farm on the other side of the map. Despite the relentless pressure on Pure, Danil “gpk” Skutin’s Puck and Vitalie “Save-” Melnic’s Grimstroke roamed effectively to create chaos and buy much-needed space for their carry. 

Gradually, Nigma’s momentum stalled and they began losing key fights. Faceless Void recovered quickly, and BetBoom started dictating the pace. The game snowballed in their favor, and they pulled off a comeback to even the series.

Game three started fairly evenly, with pickoffs and partial map control traded on both sides. BetBoom made a few visible mistakes, but Nigma’s errors proved far more costly. In typical Nigma fashion, they began to crumble and threw the early lead.

In the mid game, Ghost’s Morphling failed to activate his Black King Bar in three consecutive fights, and Syed Sumail “SumaiL” Hassan’s Nature’s Prophet was caught after teleporting to a questionable spot. What could’ve been an intense back-and-forth turned into a massive advantage for BetBoom, who then charged into Nigma’s base with confidence—eventually closing out the third map at 43 minutes.

With this Playoffs series win, BetBoom Team advance to the upper bracket semifinals, where they will face a formidable Team Falcons, fresh off their victory against Team Tidebound. The win also guarantees BetBoom a Top 6 finish at TI 2025, continuing their pattern of consistent yearly performances.

As for Nigma Galaxy, their Cinderella run continues in the lower bracket, where they’ll go up against Team Tidebound in an elimination match. It’s not unfamiliar territory—a Kuro “KuroKy” Salehi Takhasomi-led squad have famously fought their way through the lower bracket before en route their TI 2017 championship victory. Fans will be hoping for a repeat of that legendary storyline.

For more information on the biggest Dota 2 tournament of the year, check out GosuGamers' guide to this year's Dota 2 world championship tournament and TI 2025 tournament tracker.

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