Benkai shines as B.O.O.T beat Lucid Dream to win IEM Shanghai qualifier

BOOT-d[S] have punched their ticket to IEM Shanghai 2018 after defeating Lucid Dream on three maps in the Asian closed qualifier.

Lucid Dream had a one map advantage in the best-of-five series due to coming from the upper bracket, but the Singaporean team put in an improved performance after losing to the Thai side in the second round of the tournament.

It all started on BOOT-d[S]'s map pick, Cache, with Anthony "⁠ImpressioN⁠" Lim and co. bagging a quick 3-0 lead as CTs. Lucid Dream then picked up the pace, losing only three more rounds before half-time to secure a 9-6 lead. After switching to the T-side, BOOT-d[S] took nine rounds without response to hit map point. The Thai side tried to get back in the game, but their efforts were fruitless as the Singaporean side would finish the game off just three rounds later.

Next up was Dust2, and it started just like on Cache, with Lucid Dream picking up a 9-6 half-time lead after losing the first three rounds. This time around, the Thai team put up more of a fight, but BOOT-d[S] would prevail in the 30th round, with Benedict "⁠Benkai⁠" Tan finishing the game with an impressive 1.94 rating.

Mirage was the map that followed, and once again BOOT-d[S] found themselves on the backfoot early on. Down 11-4. the Singaporean side simply shut down the Terrorists with a flawless defence thanks to another strong display from Benkai , who dropped his third 30-bomb of the series.

IEM Shanghai 2018 will run from August 1-6 in Shanghai, where eight teams will duke it out for their share of the $250,000 prize pool. The team list currently looks as follows: