The MongolZ book IEM Melbourne semi-finals
The Asian powerhouse, The MongolZ took on Liquid in the second quarter-final of IEM Melbourne 2025. On the other side of the bracket, the new look Falcons made short work of GamerLegion, heading into the semi-finals where they take on MOUZ.
The first map of the series took us to Liquid's pick of Anubis where the NA-side started with a solid 4-0 on the CT-side. The trio of Twistzz, NertZ and NAF did most of the heavy lifting, fetching Liquid an all important 9-3 CT-half on a map that's known for it's T-sidedness. The MongolZ won the pistol and anti-eco to start the second half but Liquid kept it clean and closed out Anubis 13-5, going 1-0 in the series.
The MongolZ started Ancient on a strong note with pistol and anti-eco wins but Liquid strung up five rounds in a row salvaging a 5-7 half, slightly in The MongolZ favor. After dropping the pistol round on the T-side, The MongolZ stole the anti-eco. Every MongolZ player posted a T-side rating in excess of 1.30 as they closed Ancient with just a single round loss on the T-side, 13-6.
Liquid started Inferno with a 3-0 on their CT-side but an immovable 910 on the A-site, cost Liquid crucial rounds, bringing the score back to an even 3-3. Liquid lost their footing on the CT-side, failing to close out multiple post-plants as The MongolZ ran away with a 7-5 half.
Switching over to the T-side, Liquid mowed down The MongolZ in the pistol round, making it a one-round game but bLitz deleted Ultimate with the deagle putting Liquid in an early man disadvantage in the anti-eco. Following up with a couple of sharp deagle headshots, The MongolZ stole the anti-eco and quickly hit double figures at 10-6.
Liquid had a good chance to send The MongolZ into financial ruin but an armor-less mzinho opened up B for The MongolZ taking down a fully equipped AWP and rifle but a bold force-buy from Liquid kept the game open for both sides at 11-8 with The MongolZ in the lead but with a broken economy. Against all odds, The MongolZ rattled Liquid with a hero AK on 910 and Tec9s on the rest, securing match point at 12-10 and leaving Liquid with just scattered buy for the next round.
A 910 3K with the AWP closed the map for The MongolZ 13-10, wrapping the series 2-1. 910 put up a colossal 1.83 rating in the decider, dropping 30 kills at an impressive 131 ADR. The MongolZ have now set up a semi-final clash against Vitality, sending Liquid home in the quarter-final.
The MongolZLiquid| The MongolZ |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Usukhbayar '910' Banzragch |
56 - 38 | +18 | 92.9 | 76.7% | 1.34 |
| Garidmagnai 'bLitz' Byambasuren |
41 - 44 | -3 | 83.2 | 70.0% | 1.06 |
| Ayush 'mzinho' Batbold |
42 - 42 | +0 | 83.2 | 61.7% | 1.01 |
| Munkhbold 'Senzu' Azbayar |
34 - 39 | -5 | 64.1 | 73.3% | 0.99 |
| Sodbayar 'Techno' Munkhbold |
28 - 42 | -14 | 53.1 | 71.7% | 0.81 |
| Liquid |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Russel 'Twistzz' Van Dulken |
50 - 37 | +13 | 90.0 | 81.7% | 1.31 |
 Guy 'NertZ' Iluz |
45 - 40 | +5 | 89.1 | 73.3% | 1.19 |
 Roland 'ultimate' Tomkowiak |
47 - 40 | +7 | 75.6 | 65.0% | 1.09 |
| Keith 'NAF' Markovic |
35 - 38 | -3 | 63.1 | 71.7% | 0.89 |
| Kamil 'siuhy' Szkaradek |
28 - 46 | -18 | 61.6 | 63.3% | 0.80 |
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