The rise of CEO Fbz: How a boy from Makasar finally got to become a world champion

Saieful Ilham, also known as Fbz and fondly called the CEO, is one of the oldest core members of BOOM Esports. Getting his first championship 6 years after joining the flagship Indonesian organization in 2017, the offlaner from Makasar’s indestructible Mars finally got the world’s nod.

Here is the story of Fbz, Mr.CEO from Indonesia.

Starting his career as a teenager, Fbz is known for his calm and straightforward attitude, he doesn’t talk much, but he made his point every time he did it, many people think that he was just a little bit shy to the others but according to his former coach Herwin Long, Fbz is just a hardworking type person that really focused on what he’s doing, in Fbz case this meant to become a professional that he always dreamed of.

Inspired by his friends and brothers, Fbz begin to play Dota 2 when he was in middle school. at first because of the lack of equipment at home and his brother's hobby to go to Cafe Net, Fbz starting to put his interest in online games.

Lack of equipment at home led Fbz and his brother Syafi’i to go instead to Cafe Net, where Fbz took a liking in online games, particularly Warcraft.

While not immediately playing it when it was first released (Warcraft at the time), Fbz eventually started going to Net Cafe from time to time. When Dota2 was finally released, he got to devote his time to play the fledgling game. However, his dedication comes at a price: Fbz began to abandon his school and prioritizing Dota 2, training himself to be a better player along with it.

Fbz’s first competitive stint is with Pandora Esports, a local team playing in minor tournaments in Indonesia. Pandora Esports proved to be the stepping stone for his career to becoming an international professional player for Dota 2. 

Like any parent would be, both of his parents became concerned of his future. Establishing a career in electronic sports isn’t exactly a popular trend for young people and traditional education remained a springboard for most career choices. Fbz himself is not alone in having these doubts; his brother Syafi’i often noted that he doubts himself at some points in his life, even comparing himself to his peers who have gone through college and took typical jobs.

Even before the current roster, Pandora Esports holds a lethal Dota2 team. The all-Indonesian roster consisting of Mikoto, Natz, Hyde, and Usagi got to place GESC Jakarta. Their achievements as a team led Fbz to start to be more confident in the path he chose. After some time, BOOM Esports finally set an eye on him at the early stage of his career. Ultimately set his final stage as a professional Dota 2 player.

With BOOM Esports, Fbz once again took his career to another level and met stronger adversaries throughout the way. His debut in the international scene proved to be a bang as BOOM Esports won the first ever LAN tournament since the COVID-19 pandemic struck, beating the likes of top tier offlaners such as 33, ATF, iceiceice, Collapse, and MinD_ContrRoL.

But the boy from Makasar’s journey will not conclude with a championship. Currently, Fbz and the rest of the team are competing in the Second Tour of Southeast Asian DPC as they have set their eyes for the Stockholm Major to potentially earn DPC points for the much awaited The International 11. 

To Fbz, “Always Hungry, Hungry Beast” isn’t simply a slogan; it represents his years of hunger to achieve his current standing. He will stop at nothing to keep fighting and devouring prey he comes across.