Heartbreak for The MongolZ at the Shanghai Major

With the level of performance The MongolZ have displayed in the Perfect World Shanghai Major 2024 so far, and over the past few months, calling this loss against MOUZ in the Quarter-Final “foreseen” would be disingenuous. Yet, few would have bet on them reaching even the quarter-finals before the Major had started. But a young roster with an average age of just 20.3 was maybe bound to show their age in a taut atmosphere.

The Bo3 promised fireworks right from the veto stage. The MongolZ managed to get their beloved Ancient, a map MOUZ apparently don’t vibe with, with only two recent plays yielding little more than bruised ego. MOUZ, struck back by selecting Nuke, a map The MongolZ has only tread on merely thrice in recent months. Doing poetic justice, the final map Inferno had both teams mirror each other with 71% win rate across 10 maps each. 

False sense of security on Ancient

True to form, Ancient began with The MongolZ stringing together a chain of T-side rounds, closing the half with a 9-3 lead. The map saw its fair share of highlights: a Techno 1v2 4K, a Mzinho 3K clutch and some spraydowns, and even an eco-round upset that pushed them to 12-7 match point. Despite their highest rated player in the Major, Senzu, having a quiet game, The MongolZ closed out comfortably with a 13-7 win. Or so one would have expected.

Instead, MOUZ, like a cat refusing to let go of its ninth life, clawed their way into overtime. The game-defining moment came on round 28, when The MongolZ were sitting on a 14-12 lead, in a 3v2 with an open B bombsite beckoning. But they hesitated. A moment of indecision that allowed Brollan and Torzsi to flank them. In hindsight, it’s easy for me to say they overthought it, but in reality, it was just a case of poor timing. Such are the razor-thin margins in Counter-Strike. From there, The MongolZ unraveled, unable to regain control as MOUZ clinched the first map.

An uphill battle on Nuke

The MongolZ will undoubtedly kick themselves for the loss on Ancient. A lot of their round losses stemmed from overzealous plays, pushing through smokes, squandering man-advantages, and overextending in critical moments. Anyway, we moved on to Nuke, the second map and a tall order for The MongolZ.

Starting on the CT side, they started brightly, racing to a 7-1 lead. However, lack of experience on the grand stage, compounded by a Gordian knot of a CT side by MOUZ, stifled their momentum. Ultimately, the flawless fairytale run of The MongolZ in Shanghai met its end, with 13-9 as the difference between the two teams. 

Final Words

I believe that there are fewer heartbreaks and more silver linings that The MongolZ will take back home. They have shown excellent Counter-Strike; a bunch of mechanically gifted players, who can turn the round on its head at any given point and even take down the likes of G2. They came to put Asian CS on the map, and will be leaving with their hands full of love and support. Moving forward, their focus must shift to fine-tuning late-round decision-making and finding the right balance in their aggressive plays, particularly around smokes.