Community reacts: The MongolZ bench Senzu

The Mongolian's surprise departure from the active lineup left many in the community aghast.

The MongolZ announced the surprise benching of Azbayar "⁠Senzu⁠" Munkhbold on Wednesday, leaving the team without their best player just 43 days away from Stage 3 of the StarLadder Budapest Major.

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The MongolZ bench Senzu in shock move

The removal came on the heels of an EWC trophy, runner-up Major finish, several deep playoff runs, and a jump to first in the VRS and HLTV team ranking by The MongolZ, eliciting shock reactions from most of the prominent voices in the community.

Posts poured in after the announcement, with Sudhen "⁠Bleh⁠" Wahengbam understandably upset as Asia suffers a big blow ahead of the Major.

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The timing of the change, removal of The MongolZ's best player, and the surprise fashion in which it was announced also drew reactions, as well as guesses about whether Erdenedalai "⁠maaRaa⁠" Bayanbat has other options lined up.

Others questioned what the reason for Senzu's benching could be, and speculated about possible destinations for him and about The MongolZ's future.

Counter-Strike co-creator Minh "⁠Gooseman⁠" Le posited an... interesting theory behind the change, clearly left appalled by the move.

And amidst all the chaos, Ayush "⁠mzinho⁠" Batbold took to X to bid farewell to his teammate, while Senzu shed some light on the decision.

What do HLTV users think?

HLTV asked our cherished readers to get involved and let us know their thoughts on the shocking news. We dipped into the mailbag and gathered a few reactions, with more than one user speculating that personal reasons may have been the catalyst.

Samu Pikkarainen said: "It's definitely odd, but I think I have a pretty simple reason. Senzu's Twitter profile picture is from an interview with Kyrie Irving where he was asked about his absence from playing, and his response was "family and personal stuff". So something massive probably has happened in Senzu's personal life that required a hiatus."

Austin Hicks reckoned the personal issues could be more along the lines of "off server attitude/real life issues such as burnout," whilst also speculating that Senzu might be getting bought out. "People have seen how well FURIA are doing with molodoy not having the best English but can still compete."

Other users speculated (potentially unseriously) that The MongolZ are making room for nocries, with miki2k3 saying the FPL star would "save Mongolian CS and bring the first Asian Major home."

And of course, in true HLTV fashion, a few users jumped on the chance to demonstrate their comedic writing skills. Take it away, Robin Hellberg: "I firmly believe the Turkish government kidnapped Senzu’s family and blackmailed him into benching himself so Aurora has a chance at the major."