Coming into PGL Bucharest 2025, many fans had expected The MongolZ to be right in with a chance of winning the entire event. For a long time now, this team have sat on the brink of a Tier 1 victory, falling short to superior opposition in the Playoffs. With a weakened slate of teams in attendance in Bucharest, this event had all the makings of something different. For The MongolZ, it needed to be an opportunity to capture that elusive trophy.
However, things haven’t quite gone according to plan for the Asian team. After the conclusion of the PGL Bucharest 2025 Group Stage, The MongolZ have found themselves eliminated at the hands of a poor Falcons team, having never quite gotten going in Romania. It’s a tough pill to swallow, knowing that perhaps your best chance at a trophy this year has slipped through your fingers.
The MongolZ’s slow start hurt them
Credit: Sebastian Pandelache | PGL
According to the PGL Bucharest desk at the start of the event, The MongolZ came into this CS2 tournament on the back of a break. Simply put, it showed, with the team falling to consecutive defeats to 3DMAX and Apogee. No disrespect to either of those teams, but The MongolZ should be winning those series with ease.
Going 0:2 after two days was far from ideal, and left the team with a herculean task to recover and make it to the PGL Bucharest Playoffs. After beating Liquid and FURIA, things were looking up, and it’s a credit to their quality that they were able to reset and make it to the final day in the first place. Ultimately though, winning three in a row proved a task too much for The MongolZ, even against a Falcons team with well-documented struggles of their own.
A reverse-sweep against Falcons is cause for concern
Credit: Sebastian Pandelache | PGL
Despite Falcons’ own poor form at PGL Bucharest, it won’t be the fact that The MongolZ lost against this team that bothers them most. It’ll be how they lost. On the opening map of Mirage, things went according to plan. The MongolZ took control of the series with a 13:9 win, putting themselves in pole position to reach the Playoffs of PGL Bucharest.
It was all downhill from there, though. Individual form went out the window on map two, as Falcons romped to a 13:6 win to tie the series. It all came down to the Ancient decider – The MongolZ’s favorite map. In what should have been a total gimme for the Mongolian team, they fell to zonic’s Falcons in overtime. They have now lost Ancient in four of their last six attempts, concerning form for their home turf. Whether they’ve been figured out on the map is hard to say, but it’s something to ponder going forward.
You just can’t lose a reverse sweep to Falcons in this fashion. Especially in a series in which you’re favorites from the start and already one map to the good. A day (week?) at the office to forget for The MongolZ.
What now for The MongolZ?
Given the positivity around The MongolZ in general, this result at PGL Bucharest 2025 won’t spell all doom and gloom for the team. Lest we forget, this team were IEM Katowice and ESL Pro League Semi-Finalists earlier this year, only bested in both instances by eventual winners Vitality. They certainly won’t be looking at roster changes any time soon.
Heading into the events rounding out the first half of 2025, The MongolZ will be attending IEM Melbourne 2025, IEM Dallas 2025, and the BLAST.tv Austin Major. There will be great teams in attendance at every event, sure, but the team have plenty of opportunities to bounce back and give a better account of themselves than in Bucharest. I back them to do so, even if I think a trophy win has probably passed them by (for now).