The MongolZ lift Asia's first S-Tier trophy in 10 years
The MongolZ become the first Asian team to win an S-Tier event in Counter-Strike since 2010, after lifting the YaLLa Compass 2024.
With head and shoulders above the rest from their triumph at the MESA Nomadic Master, the MongolZ passed with flying colors in Abu Dhabi. Moreover, Garidmagnai "bLitz" Byambasuren’s men showed their prowess early in the event, conquering their respective group with four wins out of five BO1 matches.
During the group stage, Astralis was the only team which put a stop to their streak with a 13-8 win on Inferno. Despite that, the MongolZ settled the score in the Semi-Finals, following a game of inches which went to overtime on the last two maps.
On the other hand, Ninjas in Pyjamas also showed incredible performances throughout the tournament, with a parallel path as the MongolZ in the group stage.
NiP started strong on Ancient
Coming into the Grand-Final, both teams were firing on all cylinders with a flashy demonstration from their AWPers; Usukhbayar "910" Banzragch and Artem "r1nkle" Moroz. In fact, they were on par before Artem faded later in the series.
Ancient, NiP’s map pick, kicked off strong for the Swedish organization. Veteran player Fredrik "REZ" Sterner was formidable, securing a convincing 9-3 T side for his team. However, “bLitz” led by example and responded with the same scoreline in the second half, to reach overtime.
Unfortunately for the Mongolians, they couldn’t win a single round, giving NiP the advantage towards the title.
The MongolZ stepped up and overcame NiP
On Mirage, it was a stomp from the get-go. Ayush "mzinho" Batbold’s heroics netted his team an early 6-0 lead. But, the ninjas pushed back with a few rounds to end the half at 4-8.
Despite losing the pistol round in the second half, NiP won three consecutive rounds to close the gap at 7-9. However, the MongolZ stopped the comeback attempt as it didn’t take long to figure out their opponents' playbook.
With both teams securing their map picks, it came down to Nuke to decide the tournament winner. Besides a few individual plays from NiP on the defense, they looked rather shaky. “r1nkle” had minimal impact, and his aggressive playstyle was often accompanied with missed shots.
The MongolZ put a strong foot on the outside which gave them the edge in the first half. Similarly, with a star showing from Azbayar "Senzu" Munkhbold, the map was done and dusted at 13-6, giving the well-deserved title to the Asian powerhouse.
After their monstrous performances during the last two events, ESL Challenger Jönköping starting June 14 awaits the MongolZ for a chance to qualify to ESL Pro League Season 20.
Featured Image source: Compass
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