The rise of The MongolZ

After Vitality's Austin Major win a frequently discussed topic alongside Vitality's near flawless first season of 2025 was the rise of The MongolZ. A rise so flamboyant that thousands of people gathered at 0400 hours in the morning in Mongolia's Ulaanbaatar to watch The MongolZ take on Vitality in the Major grand-final. Here we look at the humble beginnings of The MongolZ and how they became one of the most beloved teams in the world.

This team- The MongolZ, first surfaced at the ESL One Cologne Asian Qualifier way back in 2015. maaRaa, their current coach was a player for The MongolZ back then alongside zilkenberg, tsogoo, nuka and frost, all familiar names in the silent Mongolian Counter-Strike scene back in 2015. After a couple of second place runs in C-tier tournaments, their first title win came at the D!ngIT CS:GO Asia Invitational Season 2 after The MongolZ added Machinegun and ncl to their roster.

The MongolZ were hard at work trying to break into the S-tier scene out of East Asia. A strong start to 2016 saw The MongolZ lock in an IEM Taipei 2016 slot. Coming off of a win at E-Frag Rising Stars Asia, The MongolZ rode the momentum and took down Renegades, one of the strongest Australian teams at the time, winning out IEM Taipei and advancing to IEM Katowice 2016. The MongolZ had done it, they were in the big leagues now but had a long way to go to even put up a competitive showing at one of these S-tier events.

maaRaa made way for additional firepower in the server, moving on to a coaching role. The MongolZ that made it to IEM Katowice starting burning out and their results in 2017 took a hit with just a couple of small online wins to show for the entire year. Their results continued to roll down the hill as The MongolZ struggled against strong Asian teams often losing to teams like TYLOO who were making a statement from the Asian scene at the time.

In 2019 The MongolZ quickly cut down on the number of tournaments they were attending for a brief rebuild. The Asian Minors for the StarLadder Berlin Major was the only notable tournament they attended that year. The MongolZ's Minor campaigns continued to fail like their previous outings at Boston 2018, Krakow 2017 and Cologne 2016. Returning from the pandemic in 2022, The MongolZ now had Senzu, an explosive rifler who'd light up the server at will. During this time maaRaa was coaching IHC that contained the core which would go on to represent The MongolZ and take Asian Counter-Strike to new heights. However their 2022 edition struggled even with Senzu consistently putting up impact performances managing to win just a single C-tier event throughout the year.

On the other hand, IHC were doing quite well. maaRaa took Mongolian Counter-Strike to the Major at PGL Antwerp 2022 and despite a disappointing campaign, Mongolian Counter-Strike now had one foot in the door. The team would go on to put up several second place finishes and another Major appearance at IEM Rio 2022 before dawning The MongolZ jersey.

The roster swap in the beginning of 2023, right before the RMRs leading up to the BLAST.tv Paris 2023 Major was the one that changed everything for The MongolZ. Counter-Strike: Global Offensive was nearing its end, hosting the game's last Major in Paris. The MongolZ acquired the entire IHC roster which included bLitz, a chess master IGL and Techno4K, a dynamic and cautious rifler. After clearing the Asian RMR, The MongolZ flunked out at the Major, winning just a single map in the Challengers Stage.

After a failed campaign at the Paris Major, The MongolZ brought in 910 from Clutch gaming and picked up mzinho from the local LAN scene. At the time, mzinho was just sixteen years old. The MongolZ won ESN National Championship 2023, 5E Arena Asia Cup Fall 2023 and MESA Pro Series: Fall 2023 with this new roster. A trait of The MongolZ that quickly caught people's attention was their humility. The MongolZ kept themselves grounded after event wins and when they lost, they would just be back at the next one, trying harder then before.

A couple of months down the line, The MongolZ parted ways with hasteka and brought back Senzu from NKT, their last roster change till date but little did they know at the time that this would be the combination that puts Mongolia on the map. With Senzu in the mix The MongolZ won ESL Challenger League Season 46: Asia-Pacific and this win sent them to the top of the Asian rankings on HLTV in December 2023.

2024 was the year The MongolZ doubled-down and took the Counter-Strike scene by storm. The year started with The MongolZ humbling Lynn Vision at eXTREMESLAND and then again at the Asian RMR. While The MongolZ were dominant in the Asian scene, they still struggled against average European teams at S-tier events. After flunking out of the Copenhagen 2024 Major, The MongolZ returned to winning events in Asia like ESN National Championship 2024 and MESA Pro Series: Finals 2024. At MESA Nomadic Masters 2024, The MongolZ took down BLEED to win the title and taking down a considerably strong European opposition, fueled their confidence at YaLLa Compass 2024.

The MongolZ found themselves in a stacked Group A alongside NiP, Astralis, HEROIC, ENCE and Sashi but the Mongolian side ran through with a comfortable 4-1 record, giving a glimpse into the future of Asian Counter-Strike. 2-1s against Astralis and NiP in the playoffs fetched them the event win and marked their first S-tier win and 910 was awarded the tournament MVP, becoming the first Asian to secure one.

The MongolZ went on a form slump again but where most teams would've given up, The MongolZ worked hard and showed up tournament after tournament with the same roster, eventually winning the Thunderpick World Championship 2024, marking their biggest win so far. This was also the perfect confidence boost The MongolZ needed as they threw out OhnePixel's DRILLAS from the Asian RMR, booking their Shanghai Major spot.

They started their Shanghai Major campaign with a win against Rare Atom and had people invested once they took down MIBR, locking in a clash against GamerLegion, the Paris Major finalists in the 2-0 pool. The MongolZ put up a dominant series against GamerLegion, running through the Opening Stage with a 3-0. Each game, it was a different player who stepped up for The MongolZ- 910 with 2.09 rating in the opener, Techno with 1.69 rating against MIBR and Senzu with a 1.83 rating against GamerLegion in the bo3.

This was the farthest they'd gone in a Major and fans hoped for a couple of consolation wins or maybe a scrape through into the playoffs at best but The MongolZ bested G2 in the opening game, sending the NiKo-m0NESY duo into the 0-1 pool and then took down MOUZ, just a single win away from making history, taking Asian Counter-Strike into the Major playoffs for the first time ever. After losing the opening map in the 2-0 pool against HEROIC, Senzu stepped up with impressive performances on the other maps, showing that The MongolZ has what it takes to reset and recover from a deficit, one of the few pieces that seemed missing before.

The MongolZ waltzed into the playoffs but lost their quarter-final match against MOUZ, who they had defeated earlier in the 1-0 pool of the Legends Stage. Their deep run at the Shanghai Major netted Asia a couple of extra slots in the next Major. Throughout their journey The MongolZ have reflected back on their past, sharing their humble beginnings and showering praise towards people like maaRaa who've been guiding figures within the team.

Coming into 2025, The MongolZ had cemented themself as the best in Asia, standing head and shoulders above the rest. 910 solidifying himself as an S-tier AWPer was the biggest buff The MongolZ could've asked for. A team that once struggled to break out of the Asian teams by going toe to toe with TYLOO, Rare Atom, etc were now in a different kind of struggle. They were trying to take down the likes of Vitality, G2, Astralis, Falcons and MOUZ among others.

The MongolZ started 2025 by making the deepest run by Asian team at an IEM Katowice event. They went all the way till the semi-final, where they were sent home by Vitality. The MongolZ went on to consistently make playoffs at S-tier events and climbed up the ranks. The MongolZ were now a top 10 team and would often find themselves in the top 5 alongside teams like Vitality, Spirirt and NAVI. They garnered the nickname - "group stage merchants" for their knack to breezing through the group stages and then not finding the stage legs in playoffs.

Taking down Liquid, Lynn Vision and G2 in the Stage 3 of the BLAST.tv Austin 2025 Major, The MongolZ booked back to back playoffs appearances at Majors. They were up against a star-studded FaZe in the quarter-final. A 910-Techno masterclass saw The MongolZ do the unthinkable, eliminating FaZe in the quarter-final breaking FaZe's run of consecutive CS2 Major grand-final showings. Taking down the likes of karrigan, s1mple and hometown hero EliGE in front of an American crowd spoke volumes about how far The MongolZ had come.

A comparatively easier semi-final matchup against paIN saw The MongolZ put up a 2-0, locking in their grand-final clash against Vitality. The MongolZ had become the first Asian team in over 13 years of Counter-Strike Major history, to reach the grand-final and were now up against an unstoppable Vitality. A team that had won six consecutive S-tier events like second nature. The MongolZ stunned the world with an opening map win, making even the doubters believe for a while but ended up losing the remaining maps, falling short of Major glory.

From a team working hard to break out of the Asian scene to a top 5 campaigner, chasing Major glory The MongolZ's rise has been meteoric. The team has earned massive respect in Mongolia and all around the world for their discipline, hard work and temperment. Even on big stages the young squad carries itself with a demeanor that even seasoned campaigners fail to attain. The MongolZ's cultural impact is visible all over Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. From rappers making The MongolZ player-references to hosting massive outdoor watch parties of their matches, The MongolZ are showered with love and respect in their country.