“People always undervalue the coach’s contribution”, — BetBoom Team coach on his work in Dota 2

BetBoom Team coach Anatoly boolk Ivanov spoke about his influence on the team's results, player preparation, and the process of developing a shared vision of the game. He shared his thoughts in an interview during The International 2026.

According to Ivanov, viewers often underestimate the contribution of coaches because much of their work takes place outside of matches. He believes their work should be evaluated over a long period, with particular attention paid to the consistency of results.

People are very biased when evaluating results. They always undervalue the coach's contribution when looking at a team's results. Since they don't see what the person actually does, they always think that the team did everything and the coach was just somewhere nearby.

During active preparation, boolk spends roughly half of his time studying replays, finding examples, and preparing material, while the other half is devoted to working with players and explaining in-game ideas. Ivanov also tries to take an individual approach and develop certain “formulas” that help players make decisions faster.

He also noted that players and coaches often perceive a completed match differently. A player focuses on their own tasks and may not see the full picture immediately after a game, while a coach evaluates what happened from a broader perspective.

Speaking about the qualities required to coach a top-level team, boolk first highlighted authority and the trust of the players. In addition, a specialist must be able to persuade others, clearly communicate their thoughts, and constantly keep up with changes in the game.

Disagreements with players are also a normal part of the working process. They can involve the number of practice sessions and matchmaking games, daily routines, hero and item choices, and decisions during the draft. According to Ivanov, some of these conflicts can be constructive.

The hardest part is finding arguments that will convince people to trust you and follow a certain idea. After that, it's an endless process of refining that idea.

It's important not only to convince five players to follow the same approach, but also to make sure they don't abandon it after the first setbacks.

BetBoom Team's most recent tournament was The International 2026, where the team finished fourth. In the playoffs, BetBoom Team defeated Iron Wing and Nigma Galaxy, but lost to Team Vision before falling 0:2 to Team Spirit in the third-place match.

The club's next tournament will likely be PGL Wallachia Season 9, which is scheduled to take place in Bucharest from 17.09.2026 to 27.09.2026. The tournament is set to feature 16 teams competing for $1,000,000. However, the list of participants has not yet been officially announced.

Earlier, CyberScore compiled all the confirmed transfers and major rumors following TI15.