BetBoom Team have wasted no time in reworking their Dota 2 line-up after a fourth-place finish at The International 2026. The Eastern European organisation confirmed three changes at once: Alexander “TORONTOTOKYO” Khertek is back at the club, this time as head coach; long-time position-four Vitalie “Save-” Melnic is switching to the midlane; and Georgii “swedenstrong” Zainalabidov joins as the new soft support. The trigger for the whole shuffle is Danil “gpk” Skutin, who is stepping away from competition for the rest of the year.
TORONTOTOKYO comes home in a new role
TORONTOTOKYO needs little introduction. The TI10 champion made his name as Team Spirit’s midlaner before moving to BetBoom, where he captained the squad from the position-five role. He later transferred to Aurora Gaming and spent part of this year on loan at OG. Now he swaps the keyboard for the coaching seat while incumbent coach Anatoly “boolk” Ivanov takes a break. BetBoom described the appointment as entrusting the job to a club legend, and it is hard to argue: few active names combine an Aegis, in-game leadership experience and intimate knowledge of this particular roster.
gpk out until the New Year, Save- steps into mid
The more surprising piece is what happens in the midlane. gpk has moved to the inactive roster, saying he feels mentally and physically drained after two long seasons. He plans to take most of the time until January to look after his health, stream occasionally and then return to competitive Dota. He was explicit that this is a break, not a retirement.
Rather than sign a replacement midlaner, BetBoom are handing the role to Save-. The Moldovan has spent his entire top-tier career as a position four, most recently anchoring BetBoom’s playmaking through their 2026 run. According to the organisation, he has wanted to try mid for a long time and the club is ready to back him. It is a bold call. Role swaps of this size rarely happen at a tier-one team, and the midlane is the most mechanically demanding position on the map. If it works, BetBoom gain a captain-like presence in the centre lane; if it does not, the team may find themselves shopping for a mid again by the winter.
swedenstrong wins the tryouts
Save-‘s old seat goes to swedenstrong, the former NAVI and 1w Team support who came through BetBoom’s post-TI tryouts. He is a natural fit for the roaming, tempo-setting style BetBoom favour, but he also inherits big shoes, given how much of the team’s early-game aggression ran through Save- in recent years.
The new BetBoom roster
- Ilya “Kiritych~” Ulyanov – carry
- Vitalie “Save-” Melnic – midlane
- Matvey “MieRo” Vasyunin – offlane
- Georgii “swedenstrong” Zainalabidov – soft support
- Vladislav “Kataomi`” Semyonov – hard support
- Alexander “TORONTOTOKYO” Khertek – coach
What it means for the betting markets
BetBoom finished TI 2026 as one of the four best teams in the world, dropping into the lower bracket after a 1-2 against TEAM VISION, eliminating Iron Wing and Nigma Galaxy 2-1 apiece, and finally falling 0-2 to eventual champions Team Spirit. That pedigree is why bookmakers will keep pricing them among the favourites for the first events of the new season. But a new midlaner, a new position four and a first-time coach add a lot of uncertainty, and early-season Dota 2 odds often lag behind roster reality. Watch the first few series closely before backing BetBoom at short prices, and treat their opening tournament as a form-finding exercise rather than a guaranteed deep run. The club has not yet announced where the revamped line-up will debut.
Related:
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
