The MongolZ was one of the favorite teams going into ZOWIE eXTREMESLAND 2023 alongside other top teams like TYLOO and Lynn Vision Gaming. It was not the smoothest of journeys but the team fought hard and managed to lift the trophy at the Perfect World Esports Center in Shanghai, China.
It played four matches, dropped just one map, and faced an astonishing eight overtimes, five of them coming in a single match against TYLOO on the very first day of the tournament, resulting in a new record for the longest CS2 (Counter- Strike 2) match to take place on LAN.
After celebrating their win, the team sat down for an exclusive interview with AFK Gaming, talking about their journey and just having a good time discussing things about their past and future.
MongolZ had a great outing in ZOWIE eXTREMESLAND 2023 proving its weight in gold by defeating both TYLOO and Lynn Vision Gaming, two of its biggest challengers in Asia. The former did prove to be a tough hurdle but the latter could not hold its own against the Mongolian onslaught.
The 18-year-old talented rifler from Mongolia, Sodbayar "Techno4K" Munkhbold, speaking on behalf of the entire team, said, “ZOWIE eXTREMESLAND 2023 was a great tournament. It took place right before the APAC RMR (PGL Major Copenhagen 2024) and provided us with much-needed practice against some of the top teams from around Asia.”
Techno4K further pointed out that though their journey was smooth that group stage clash against TYLOO was a tough break for them, “In my opinion, the multiple overtime against TYLOO was our toughest match in the tournament.”
I mean, any team would be having a mental breakdown after playing a total of 54 rounds on Inferno, that too with the pressure of the match being a best-of-one and the winner directly qualifying for the playoffs.
“We were of course trying to win the match but there were some mistakes that ruined certain rounds and pushed the match into overtime, from there on we just kept playing for the win despite things being a little annoying. We were also getting tired with the repeated rounds,” said Techno4K.
One thing that stood out the most, even more than their impressive performance on LAN in front of a live audience, was the confidence with which they carried themselves within and outside the server, calm and composed, respecting their opponents but not reacting outwardly.
When asked if they considered themselves to be the best CS2 team from Asia, Techno4K without a second thought or stutter, gave an immediate response, “Yeah, of course, we are the best team in Asia.” This in itself is proof enough about the self-belief the players carry with them and automatically translates into the confident persona they so casually wear.
ZOWIE eXTREMESLAND 2023 was the first offline tournament for MongolZ this year but the team walked into this tournament with a lot of experience under its belt. They enjoyed a successful 2023 where they represented Asia and Mongol in multiple international tournaments including IEM Rio 2023, BLAST Paris Major 2023, IEM Cologne 2023, and DreamHack Atlanta 2023.
“The international LAN tournaments are a big thing with many top-tier teams in the mix. It was a good experience overall and provided us with a lot of practice. We learned quite a bit from their playstyle and even started to figure some of them out. Now, if we get enough time to study a team, we can beat any of them,” explained Techno4K, with a lot of commitment in his voice.
In addition to this, Techno4K expressed that it feels great to have transferred the momentum over to 2024 as well, evident by the team's qualification for PGL Major Copenhagen 2024 APAC (Asia Pacific) RMR (Regional Major Rankings) and ESL Pro League S19.
Online domination in qualifiers and now proving themselves on LAN by winning the ZOWIE eXTREMESLAND 2023, MongolZ seems to be doing a perfect job at covering all their bases.
Talking about their future and what they aim to achieve in 2024 going ahead, Techno4K says, “In 2024, we have set a goal for ourselves and it is simply to qualify for the playoffs stage of a Major, we want to be among the top eight. That’s it, this is what we want to achieve for now.”
The MongolZ: ZOWIE eXTREMESLAND 2023 Champions
There is not a shred of doubt that MongolZ is one of the best CS2 teams in Asia. They have a firm grip on the throne and the recent victory in front of a live audience has provided them with enough cushioning to stay on top until the action for APAC RMR begins towards the end of February 2024.
It will be the ultimate test for MongolZ with only the top two teams getting a chance to compete in PGL Copenhagen Major 2024.
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