It’s fair to suggest that The MongolZ have had a pretty rough start to ESL Pro League Season 22. Two games, two losses, both at the hands of opponents you’d back them to beat on any day ending with Y. It is not even two months since The MongolZ won the Esports World Cup, and already they are staring down the barrel of an early elimination at Pro League. Not good.
So, what is actually happening with The MongolZ? Why is the team that has spent the last few weeks at the summit of the VRS suddenly losing to underdogs without putting up much of a fight? There’s much to investigate.
The MongolZ’s ‘no practice’ gimmick is getting old fast
Just a couple of months ago at IEM Cologne, we spoke to Techno from The MongolZ, who claimed that the team didn’t practice for that event. Crazy, right? A serious Counter-Strike team practices for events, let alone the biggest events of the year.
If the latest episode of Talking Counter is to be believed, it’s a similar story for ESL Pro League Season 22, with The MongolZ instead choosing to prioritize heading back to Mongolia following their FISSURE Playground 2 Final defeat to FURIA (a loss that seemingly ages better with each match FURIA play). While it’s good that the team is seemingly cognizant about the possibility of burnout, it does feel as though they have allowed some opportunities to slip away as a result of this approach. Strike while the iron is hot.
Tier 2 Counter-Strike is better than ever – don’t underestimate them
At ESL Pro League Season 22, The MongolZ have lost to both HOTU and Inner Circle, only managing to take a single map from the former. Bad losses on paper. But in practice? Maybe there’s more to it.
In Stage 1, HOTU were able to surprise FURIA with an easy 2:0 series win, before qualifying for Stage 2 in the 3:0 bracket. With Major winner n0rb3r7 in their ranks, they’ve hardly looked tested at any point, and it’s clear their individual level far surpasses their low VRS ranking.
You can say the same thing about Inner Circle, too. Their 3:0 run in Stage 1 was very impressive, and dragging Spirit to the brink in match one of their Stage 2 opener showed their massive potential. My point is that these Tier 2 online grinder teams aren’t bots to be swept away without challenge. They live, breathe, and dream Counter-Strike. They’re on the “200 Hours Last Two Weeks” on Steam kind of grind. If you show up to face them without practice, they’ll make you suffer, no matter how prepared you think you are.
If The MongolZ are serious about their championship credentials, then they must be a little more wary of hubris. Once, they were the plucky underdogs looking to upset the contenders with sheer firepower. Now, they are the ones bearing the weight of expectations on their shoulders. Expectations of a higher level of Counter-Strike than the non-stop style that catapulted them to the summit. But their self-confidence that has seen them arrive at events without practice may be working against them.
Alarm bells? Not quite yet. But if The MongolZ bomb out of ESL Pro League Season 22 0:3 and don’t make a quick recovery, we’ll pick up this discussion further down the line.
