The MongolZ beat HEROIC to secure historic Major playoff spot

The Mongolian team came back from a map down to win their 2-0 pool match and maintain their unbeaten record in Shanghai.

The MongolZ have locked up a spot in the playoff stages of the Shanghai Major after beating HEROIC in three maps in the 2-0 pool. They've made history for Asian Counter-Strike as the first team from the region to reach the playoffs of a Major.

"It's a really meaningful thing for Asian CS," Sodbayar "⁠Techno⁠" Munkhbold said after the match. "I'm really glad to make it to the playoffs."

The Mongolian side remains undefeated in Shanghai after 3-0 runs in the Opening and Elimination Stages. Today was the first time they dropped a map at this Major as they were caught off-guard on their pick of Mirage. They left it late to secure Anubis after letting a massive 11-3 lead slip before cruising through Ancient, where HEROIC not found their footing.

Mirage was the venue for the final map of the teams' meeting at Thunderpick, where The MongolZ won 13-2 to seal the trophy.

But this time around the Abdul "⁠degster⁠" Gasanov of old arrived, dropping 25 kills and 134.5 ADR in his best map for HEROIC so far.

Only a Techno ninja defuse flying out of Palace dented their momentum, as the map was cleaned up 13-8.

HEROIC picked Anubis for their map, despite a 13-11 loss on it in that Thunderpick final, and started terribly by going down 11-3 — with Azbayar "⁠Senzu⁠" Munkhbold on fire and 4v2 advantages still not enough for round wins.

But, slowly and surely, HEROIC got back into the game on the stronger T side.

Winning eight rounds out of the next nine, HEROIC looked like they had stumbled in round 24 as they fell into a 2v4. degster and Guy "⁠NertZ⁠" Iluz, though, had other ideas and overtime beckoned.

The first overtime could not determine a winner as the two teams cancelled each other out. A 3-0 T side then put The MongolZ on the brink of victory, and they held off a comeback attempt from HEROIC in the second half to take the series to Ancient.

The MongolZ carried their momentum into the decider map and stormed to an 8-4 lead after picking HEROIC's defense apart throughout the first half. The Mongolians followed that up with a flawless pistol round and quickly hit series point. NertZ still tried to pull his team back into the game, but there was no stopping the Asian side.