Boombl4 on d1Ledez addition: "I see the growth, and the atmosphere has become much better"

Boombl4 admits that whilst benching Ax1Le was a tough decision, he is seeing the benefits for the team.

Since revamping their lineup with the additions of Artem "⁠ArtFr0st⁠" Kharitonov and Daniil "⁠d1Ledez⁠" Kustov, BetBoom have been on a tear, finishing first or second in a string of online events to aid their quest for Major qualification.

That quest continues at Majestic LanDaLan, a rare chance for the Russian squad to show their worth on LAN and inch themselves ever closer to the Major. BetBoom opened their account in Moscow with a win over Betera.

Date	Matches
Majestic LanDaLan 3
25/09/2025	BetBoom Finished 2:1 Betera	Match

"It's obvious that this event really matters for us to make the Major," Kirill "⁠Boombl4⁠" Mikhailov admitted to HLTV, but he doesn't want to let that get into his head. "I don't want to assign it any super importance. I went here thinking we just gotta show our game, and that's it."

With a high-pressure tournament ahead of him, Boombl4 spoke with HLTV to discuss his team's efforts to climb the VRS, their recent online grind, and the decision to bench Sergey "⁠Ax1Le⁠" Rykhtorov in favor of d1Ledez.

Editor's note: This interview was conducted in Russian and translated by HLTV staff.

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It was a tough game against Betera. Why did it go on for so long?

I feel like the guys felt some blood on map one, because we couldn't close the game so easily. On map two, I don't know to be honest. I was very mad after it ended because in the attack, we were rushing things, in defense, we wouldn't comprehend the info, and wasted seconds, so the game slipped through our fingers. I don't know... I was getting on map three with thoughts that now we gotta show some sort of class. Not sure if we managed to do it with 9-3 on T-side. We won some unreal rounds like that 3v5.

Overall, I'm satisfied and happy that the game ended with us winning. We got used to this Moscow LAN, with a lot of people cheering. For me personally, playing a LAN in a native environment is very challenging in terms of morale.

This LAN is quite important for you, so what are your impressions of the conditions here? On one hand, a charged crowd, on the other hand, it's just three meters separating you from the crowd. Does it help or distract?

To be honest, I'm not even thinking about it because it's obvious that this event really matters for us to make the Major, and I don't want to assign it any super importance. I went here thinking we just gotta show our game, and that's it. So no matter what conditions here are they wouldn't be able to distract me, I try to be in the game, and that's it.

Speaking of the importance, this event will affect the VRS standings and affect your chances at making the Major. Were you looking into this yourself, or are you trying not to think about it?

Honestly, I'm very disappointed with the VRS system. The system is quite unfair because, for example, the European teams go to LANs that get announced a week prior, and for Russians it is sometimes hard to get a visa in this situation. So they have some sort of an advantage.

Also, a large quantity of online tournaments give no points whatsoever, you have to win four games without losses to be net-positive on points for an online event. On the other hand, Liquid goes to FISSURE and gets 110 points in one game. For me, it's ridiculous. The VRS system was made to move away from BLAST and ESL, but it feels like you can't fall out of the top 15. I understand that it's a new system, of course, and it's hard to make it perfect in year one perhaps, but I believe they should be working on it, because it's unbearable to me personally.

Overall, we understand how much this event matters. Before that, Thunderpick qualifiers were also important, and we even recognize the importance of CCT that we play online. This event specifically is the last LAN and the last opportunity [to get VRS points before the Major], so the more we think about it, the more it will pressure us. In the last month we've been just trying to play every game for a win. We also understand that we're a desired opponent to win against in terms of getting VRS points.

You mentioned online qualifiers. You managed to win two online events and finish second twice as well, but you failed all three LAN qualifiers that you've had recently. Was it bad luck or did you fall under the pressure, perhaps?

We've had a very consistent month when we had twelve wins in a row, and as always, after reaching some high place, it's hard to hold onto it. I don't think we really felt extra pressure in those LAN qualifier games, it just happened to end like this. We're working on that consistency, and I think everyone wants to make it to LAN. Even in the previous roster with Ax1le and zorte, we were living in our thoughts about LAN.

Now we will finally have an opportunity to play a LAN in Moscow and then another one. If we fail to make the Major, it would be a huge hit for some of the players on our team. But for some, there is still another event down the line, where we will have an opportunity to make a good showing and make top 15, which would enable us to go to events next year. I think that's the right approach.

How hard is it to grind the online tournaments like you've been doing recently? Does it take a toll on you?

You know, for me personally, it's not hard to play online. When I was getting my career back on track with 1win I had a lot of online games, after that I went to a few LANs with Cloud9, and now I've joined BetBoom, and there's a plenty of online games again. I would say that now online is annoying because of the vast number of cheaters, radar hackers, and matchfixers. Regretfully, no one does anything about them.

I already want to plead to Valve or TOs because there's a feeling that only LAN attendees are taken care of in Counter-Strike, while online is just... The Major qualifiers I think got cancelled also because they don't know how to fight these people who ruin online CS, as well as the CS industry in general, making a dirty business out of it. If there were no cheaters and we were all confident, online would not be disappointing. Since you have to play online, it's hard to make it to LAN, and there are also cheaters present, so it's extremely sad.

While being in this tough environment, how happy are you with your team's performance after d1Ledez's addition?

I see the growth, and the atmosphere has become much better within the team. It's d1Ledez's first LAN event for us and so on, but he has already come in with the understanding that the team had issues and has got to improve. We're talking about this a lot. Overall, I can't say I'm unhappy, but I also think that we could be doing better, so we don't hold our heads too high and are trying to work to get better.

There's not always that time period when one could just sit and practice for a month, the VRS system is now built in a way that you have to be focused every day. Every match can decide your fate, like getting to a LAN, and attending LANs is some sort of a point of growth for a team, because even if FaZe played online [like we did], I don't think they would be having 100% winrate. Online always comes down to plenty of games and it's getting hard to prepare for every game separately, although we try to do that.

Tell me about parting ways with Ax1le. Was it hard to make the decision considering his decent performance at FPG1?

Yes. Honestly, it was a tough decision for me personally. After the player break and before FPG, we were talking about making two changes. The team needed a renewal, because the atmosphere was tough, I'd say we were unable to find common language in terms of out of team stuff as well. The people could talk about something specific, but overall the connection couldn't be seen, and it was tough. So we made this decision.

FISSURE Playground was a good tournament for Ax1le and actually, from that point of view, I was happy for him because he could make a case for himself to other teams. I wish for him to continue his career, but it was indeed a tough call to make.

What is your impression of playing with d1Ledez? How did you decide to go for him specifically?

We discussed the options with the team. I can't say it was just d1Ledez, there were three or four options. With the market it was also tough since you can't make a deal easily with any organization.

He's a simple guy who listens and follows. He shoots heads. I can't say how exactly he's different from Ax1le. Obviously, he's a less experienced player who's hungry for wins, because he hasn't had many LANs in his career, but most importantly the atmosphere had changed and people started to connect more easily. He's that positive guy, like me once in the beginning of my career, who creates the vibe and atmosphere within the team. He might be naïve at places, some things that he says might be silly, but that's what depressurizes the team in the tough moments, and I feel like it's better for our team.

Two years ago at PARI Please seized told me that d1Ledez has a vast potential and might be one of the best players. Do you feel like you've got that key piece who can be a proper star for your team?

Yes. In the last two months, we're focused on him taking over the game on himself more often. Not randomly, but so he would force his game onto the opponents. We try to work him through the macro more, so in the future he could make his own calls and the team would sometimes play for him. Now, sometimes, we play for him, but it's the call of the team or me.

We want him to be not the secondary voice, but for him to take responsibility on his part of the map and tell us what to do. So we develop our team's macro and try to have him do more.