According to sources close to Sheep Esports, BOOM Esports is set to make two roster changes ahead of Pacific Ascension, bringing in Jonathan "naTz" Adiputra and welcoming “whitecat” in place of Fikri "famouz" Hamdani. After finishing eighth in the VCT Pacific circuit points standings, the Indonesian organization has been relegated to Ascension rather than moving directly into Challengers, and will therefore still have the opportunity to climb back up if they succeed.
For Ascension, BOOM will be adding whitecat, a young Filipino prospect coming from Team Secret’s academy. While he is not yet old enough to compete in the VCT itself, he will attempt to help the squad bounce back on the big stage. Having joined Team Secret in mid-July during Challengers Southeast Asia, he has only played
five official series on VLR.gg so far, most of them on Duelists, with two wins and three losses. He is expected to replace famouz, who has been part of BOOM since late 2022, but no longer fits into the team’s plans.
A familiar name
Alongside this change, naTz is also expected to join the team for Ascension, filling the spot left by Dastan "dos9" Zhumagali, who recently moved on to new opportunities, as first reported by Sheep Esports. A familiar name in the region, naTz has played for several squads and notably signed with RRQ’s academy at the end of 2024, before being promoted to the VCT roster as a substitute in early August. He has since departed that role ahead of Champions in Paris and will now begin a new chapter with BOOM.
Scheduled to take place from
October 13 to 26 in Bangkok, the Pacific Ascension event will gather ten teams from across the region, including South Korea, Southeast Asia, and Oceania. BOOM will be joined by Nongshim Esports, who also dropped into Ascension after their VCT Pacific campaign. As is the case in every international region, two coveted promotion spots will be up for grabs at the end of the tournament, granting a return to the top tier of
VALORANT.
Earlier this season, BOOM had a mixed run in the Pacific League. They placed in the Top 9–12 during the Kickoff after losses to T1 and Nongshim, but showed much stronger form in Stage 1. By topping Group Alpha ahead of DRX, Gen.G Esports, and even Paper Rex, BOOM looked ready to establish themselves as a new powerhouse in the region. However, their playoff run told a different story, as they failed to win a match and finished in 5th–6th place. The team could not maintain their momentum, closing out the year with another disappointing Top 11–12 finish in Stage 2.
For more roster changes, check out our Transfers Hub.
You can also follow every confirmed move and leak throughout the offseason with our Offseason Tracker. Header Photo Credit: Sheep Esports
