The MongolZ ease past GamerLegion into Katowice playoffs

The Mongolian squad are steadily ramping up in their first event of the year.

The MongolZ have secured a place in the Spodek Arena thanks to a 2-0 victory over GamerLegion, ensuring a playoff berth in their first tournament of the year.

GamerLegion put up a strong fight on Nuke, recovering from a slow start on their T side to gather a respectable five rounds. A pistol win put the European combine in a strong position on their defensive half, but a key loss to a The MongolZ half-buy cost them their dominant position and eventually the map.

Mirage was a different story, as The MongolZ comfortably outclassed their opponents. GamerLegion struggled to deal with The MongolZ's varied A attacks in the first half, a couple Erik "⁠ztr⁠" Gustafsson clutches giving them at least something to work with heading into halftime.

Some slick retakes put The MongolZ in control early on in their own defensive effort, and the duly closed the series out with ease.

The MongolZ will have a chance to skip a round of the playoffs should they beat the winner of Spirit vs. Natus Vincere in their next game, whilst GamerLegion will hope to earn a playoff berth via a lower bracket run, which begins with a bout against the winner of Astralis vs. FURIA.

Date	Matches
IEM Katowice 2025
04/02/2025	GamerLegion 13:30 Astralis	Match
04/02/2025	The MongolZ 18:30 Natus Vincere	Match

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The MongolZ start to hit their stride

After starting their season late due to an injury to Azbayar "⁠Senzu⁠" Munkhbold, The MongolZ seemed to be suffering from a bit of ring rust in their opening Katowice bout against Liquid.

The Mongolian squad were closer to their best against GamerLegion, overcoming stiff resistance to get Nuke over the line before cleaning up the series comfortably on Mirage.

Many eyes are locked on The MongolZ to see if they can take the next step after breaking into the top 10 last year. With a bout against either Spirit or Natus Vincere on the horizon, they have an early chance to prove they are a legitimate contender for top trophies in 2025.

The legion of youthful gamers continues to show promise

At this point Ashley "⁠ash⁠" Battye's achievements in continually rebuilding GamerLegion, often with young talent, are well appreciated. The current iteration of GamerLegion is no different, and they very well could have taken the win on Nuke today, had they avoided losing to the half-buy mid-way through the second half.

Fredrik "⁠REZ⁠" Sterner seems reinvigorated since his arrival from Ninjas in Pyjamas, and he continued that trend today, his 1v3 clutch on Nuke impressing in particular. The Swede's fellow off-season addition, Oldřich "⁠PR⁠" Nový, is adapting to tier-one CS impressively well overall, although he showed his rough edges in certain situations, particularly defending Door on the CT side of Nuke.

The signs are looking positive for GamerLegion, and they will fancy their chances against either Astralis or FURIA. Should they continue their development in smoothing out some of the aforementioned rough edges, they will be in good stead for the rest of the season.