Boombl4: “I’m not setting any goals for this Major”

BetBoom Team captain Kirill “Boombl4” Mikhailov spoke with OFFSTAGE about working with coach Artem “Fierce” Ivanov and his team’s performance at IEM Atlanta 2026, as well as reflecting on their goals for the IEM Cologne Major 2026 and noting the impact of visa issues on the team.
On working with Fierce
I feel like I’ve definitely found a connection with him. With his arrival, our play has changed—we’ve started to show a more structured CS. I think we’re still on the same path, where he’s trying to impose his understanding and get us to think the same way. The work is far from over. Plus, we’re currently playing with stand-ins, so it’s hard to even gauge our progress. But Fierce is making an incredibly huge contribution to the team’s development. Right now, we’re like a symbiotic unit where I listen to him more, trust him, and pick and choose from the things he says during match prep. So far, everything’s working out for us.
On BetBoom Team’s performance at IEM Atlanta 2026
I think the victory over Vitality stands out. Unconsciously, for everyone, it was a wake-up call that we can perform at a high level and beat the best team in the world. Overall, I think this tournament helped us gain some experience. During the LAN stage, our team faced nerves in the match against NAVI and got a taste of that Tier 1 competition. We simply became more experienced and savvy, so to speak, when it comes to major events and the tough matches that come with them.
On goals for IEM Cologne Major 2026
I’m not setting any specific goals for this Major. We’re playing with a stand-in—it doesn’t matter how well it goes; that shouldn’t change anything. I don’t want to say that we’re aiming for at least the playoffs and so on. Given the situation we’re in right now, making it to the playoffs would be good for us. But if we get eliminated 2-3, I won’t be too upset. Yes, it’ll be disappointing... But if we start having expectations now, it can only get in our way. We just want to play and win as much as we can.
On visa issues
Visa issues certainly affect us. But what can we do about it? I don’t know. We can only feel down about it, let it go, and move on. We need to do everything we can in our situations. We just have to adapt to the circumstances.
Earlier in an interview, Boombl4 shared his impressions of the matches against Team Falcons and The MongolZ at IEM Cologne Major 2026, named the strongest teams in the third stage of the tournament, and commented on his squad’s entry into the top 9 of the VRS world rankings.


