fer rules out signing with BOOM

The two-time Major winner says that he'd rather risk not playing again than sign for the Indonesian organization.

Former MIBR player Fernando "⁠fer⁠" Alvarenga has rejected the possibility of signing with BOOM. The 29-year-old appeared on Alexandre "⁠gAuLeS⁠" Chiqueta' stream on Wednesday and addressed his future amidst reports that he could replace João "⁠felps⁠" Vasconcellos in the Brazilian team.

fer praised BOOM's team — which he helped win the FlowFiReLEAGUE Global Finals last month while acting as a stand-in —, but noted that he's at a stage of his career in which he's looking for a lucrative contract before eventually retiring as a player.

"It's a good team, a bit different than what I'm used to," he said. "I'd be joining a new team and I've always played in the same system, under the same captain, I have my style. But as far as in-game matters are concerned, there would be no problem for me to stay with them.

"But outside of the game, in terms of the contract, I'm at the end of my career, and I'm looking for a contract that is good for me to end my career. I'd rather risk ending my career now than sign for them, if I'm being honest."

This does not mean that fer will not end up joining the Brazilian team, however. According to reports by Draft5 and DBLTAP, the players are looking into the possibility of leaving BOOM — whom they joined in February 2020 —, once their contracts expire at the end of this month.

fer was released from his contract with MIBR in December, three months after he, Epitacio "⁠TACO⁠" de Melo and coach Ricardo "⁠dead⁠" Sinigaglia were removed from the active lineup by the organisation following a disastrous run of results during a bootcamp in Belgrade, Serbia. Gabriel "⁠FalleN⁠" Toledo immediately stepped down from the lineup in protest against the decision.

fer, who won multiple international titles between 2016 and 2018, including the MLG Columbus and ESL One Cologne 2016 Majors, ruled out joining a mid-tier team as he no longer has the time to grind his way back to the top again. He stressed that he's still eager to win, but he also said that the prospect of transitioning into streaming does appeal to him.

"I really want to play, to grow, to win everything again," he said. "But I do not have the time to spend a year and half playing from the bottom to work my way up and then have a shot at winning. I do not think it will be good for my career to end that way.

"I think it would be very cool to be a streamer. I love streaming. If I retire and become a streamer, I'll be happy, too. I'd probably earn four times as much money as I do as a player, playing from home, four, five, six hours a day, without people criticising me."