The MongolZ make history as the first Asian team in Major playoffs, defeating Heroic at the Shanghai Major.
The MongolZ has made history as the first Asian team to make playoffs at a Counter-Strike Major. Garidmagnai "bLitz" Byambasuren's team defeated Heroic in a thrilling three-map series to make the Shanghai Major playoffs undefeated. The MongolZ's win over Heroic also marks the third time (second roster) a team from the APAC region has qualified for the playoffs following 2019's Renegades.
The MongolZ's incredible journey at the Shanghai Major
The MongolZ have been nearly flawless so far at the Shanghai Major. Starting in the Opening stage, the team easily dusted off Rare Atom, MIBR, and GamerLegion to lock in the top 16. And across the board, the players were stellar. The team topped nearly every stat sheet across the opening stage. With their incredible form, they looked set to sneak their way into the playoffs. But The MongolZ had no plans of sneaking around. They came, they saw, they conquered.
Their first match against G2 could simply have been a case of Janusz "Snax" Pogorzelski's team being slow off the line. But the match against MOUZ showed the Asian side's tenacity. After a 7-5 effort on their T side, The MongolZ were disappearing under the MOUZ onslaught. Kamil "siuhy" Szkaradek's men picked up 7 rounds straight to secure match point. But IGL Garidmagnai "bLitz" Byambasuren turned the tide in back-to-back rounds to push the game into overtime. That's where the more experienced European side crumbled completely, handing MongolZ the 2-0.
Their final Swiss game was much of the same. For both The MongolZ and Heroic, a 3-0 would be the best chance of making the playoffs. And that gravity was not lost on Abdulkhalik "degster" Gasanov. The Heroic AWPer found his 2022 form, putting up his best performance in the red jersey. That 25-kill game completely snatched away Mirage from The MongolZ, but once again they bounced back. Moving to Anubis, the team built up an early bank of rounds and held on in Overtime.
Much like the MOUZ game, once the Asian side made overtime, there was no looking back. Even when the two teams moved into Ancient, The MongolZ maintained their upper hand over Heroic, quickly taking a 13-6 win, guaranteeing playoffs at the Shanghai Major.
Related articles
A Story Two Years in the Making
This run to the playoffs isn't an unexpected miracle like those in the past have been. Instead, The MongolZ's ascendance has been a developing story for the last two years. From being an upset specialist in early 2023, the team has developed into a top team with well-drilled fundamentals. Along the way, bLitz and Techno4k have replaced every star from that Katowice '23 run, finding talents that can be molded in The MongolZ way.
When Tengis "sk0R" Batjargal and Tuvshintugs 'Annihilation' Nyamdorj were replaced, many predicted a downfall for MongolZ. But 910 and Senzu have proven everyone wrong. YaLLa Compass was where the true MongolZ finally showed up, defeating teams like Astralis, Heroic, NIP, and more on the way to their first LAN title. Excellent results at ESL events have since followed, notably their victory over Spirit at IEM Cologne.
Coming into the Major, The MongolZ have reached their best form. Since their loss to ENCE at Elisa Masters Espoo, the team has been simply unstoppable. 13 series in a row, the team has won, and now they make their way towards CS' biggest stage.
How far can The MongolZ go at the Shanghai Major?
Playoffs are now guaranteed, and aside from Vitality, MongolZ will enter as the top seed. While the rest of the stage is still playing out, the team will be preparing for the most important series of their careers. They have already shown they can take down G2, Heroic, or MOUZ. Others like Liquid remain imminently beatable. If The MongolZ can keep their nerves in check, this major is a golden opportunity to make a deep run and fly the Mongolian flag high in Shanghai.
Stay tuned to esports.gg for more Shanghai Major coverage.
