GGRAsia – From local team to global franchise: the success story of The MongolZ

From local team to global franchise: the success story of The MongolZ

Dec 19, 2024 Newsdesk Sponsored Feature

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Last year, The MongolZ celebrated an important milestone – the organisation’s 10th anniversary. Their successful performances brought Mongolia onto the global e-sports map.

Over the past year, the project was rebranded and secured support from the global betting company 1xBet. The new sponsor’s support provided a powerful boost for starting a new chapter of major victories.

Climbing to e-sports heights

The MongolZ’s story began on August 20, 2013. The team was founded shortly after the conclusion of the third edition of The International in Dota 2. The name was chosen deliberately as the project’s founders wanted to highlight their origin.

However, the squad gained recognition through Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO). This was an unexpected turn of events: while Asian teams historically dominated Dota and other multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) games, CS:GO had been led primarily by European teams.

With confidence and relentless training, The MongolZ made their ambitions clear from their very first matches. After finalising their roster, the team entered the qualifiers for the ESL One: Cologne 2015 Major, choosing to bypass smaller regional tournaments.

The promising squad quickly drew attention with its bold playstyle. It received an invitation to participate in the offline tournament Asian Qualifier. To secure a spot at the Major, it needed to finish in the top two out of eight participants.

The debut was spectacular but not the most successful. The Mongols lost to Australia’s Team Immunity, the Asian Qualifier future winner. South Korean team myRevenge was their next opponent. The scenario of the first match repeated itself. Despite a strong start, The MongolZ lost in a close battle with a 16-14 score.

The two-loss streak didn’t shake their confidence. The Mongols carefully reviewed their performances and made the right adjustments. They successfully passed the test of learning from their mistakes and, by the end of 2015, they achieved their first significant accomplishments. The team finished just short of victory at the MixBOT Pro-League Season 1 and D!ngIT CS:GO Asia Invitational Season 1, winning silver medals. Their first major win came at the D!ngIT CS:GO Asia Invitational Season 2.

Championship at IEM Season X Taipei, frustrating losses, and dizzying rises

The year 2016 was a breakthrough for The MongolZ. In the IEM Season X Taipei qualifiers, the Mongols secured a confident victory, not losing a single map. In the main tournament, the rookie team became a dark horse and absolutely dominated its opponents. As a result, the organisation took home the gold medals and earned a record US$30,000 prize.

The successful performance didn’t go unnoticed, and the squad received an invitation to the more prestigious IEM Season X World Championship, held in Poland. However, after the rise, the Mongols faced a crushing fall. The MongolZ lost every match in the group stage and became the first team to be eliminated from the tournament.

At that time, European teams set the rules in CS:GO. Britain’s Fnatic and Sweden’s Ninjas in Pyjamas played at a completely different level. The MongolZ rethought their training approach and began adopting the methods used by European organisations.

The dark period lasted for several years. A glimmer of hope came with the victory at the ASUS ROG Masters 2016 tournament. However, the team continued to regularly fail at major championships, often finishing in last place. The MongolZ management replaced players, but the roster update didn’t bring positive results. After another failure in 2022, the management took radical measures and froze the project.

In 2022, another Mongolian team, IHC Esports, had a standout year. In the spring, the organisation signed the Checkmate roster. Players bLitz, Techno4K, Bart4k, kabal, nin9, and sk0R, under the leadership of maaRaa and kaz, sensationally won the Asia-Pacific RMR tournament. This unexpected triumph earned the young team a spot at the Major.

However, at the main tournament in Antwerp, the team underperformed – just one win in four matches and an early exit in the first stage. The same story repeated at the IEM Rio Major. IHC Esports once again passed the qualifiers with confidence, but at the main tournament, it only finished in 20th place.

The mention of IHC Esports isn’t random, and now you’re about to find out why.

Relaunch of The MongolZ project and collaboration with 1xBet

In the spring of 2023, The MongolZ management unexpectedly announced the project’s revival. The new team was built around the IHC Esports roster. Techno4K, bLitz, Bart4k, Annihilation, hasteka, as well as coaches kaz and maaRaa, decided to change teams and create a new chapter on the foundation of the renowned organisation.

Despite existing contracts, IHC Esports management willingly released the players. The decision was made because the talented Mongolian players chose to bring the popular project back home instead of joining more successful European teams for better pay.

IHC Esports management is focused on developing e-sports in Mongolia and prioritises this global goal over its financial interests. Another important factor was that the revived The MongolZ project secured a reliable sponsor, 1xBet, a long-time partner of IHC Esports.

The new chapter in The MongolZ’s history was made possible largely thanks to the collaboration with international betting company 1xBet. This reliable brand has been a long-time sponsor of leading e-sports teams (MIBR, Beastcoast, IHC Esports), top tournament organisers (ESL, PGL, MESA), and media platforms (HLTV). 1xBet has extensive experience that allows it to achieve the highest goals in the world of e-sports.

The global betting company goes beyond financial and media support, taking the initiative and actively participating in each project’s development strategy. The partnership includes not only help with equipment, training facilities, and logistics but also 1xBet’s ability to solve larger issues. For example, the company identified that the team lacked practice against top-tier opponents as Mongolia doesn’t have many successful teams.

For that reason, it was decided to organise a boot camp for the Mongols in Europe. With 1xBet support, The MongolZ e-sports team expanded its fanbase. Active social media engagement, vlog production, and regular fan meetups helped promote the franchise.

In 2024, the team qualified for the Major in Shanghai. To celebrate, 1xBet funded the creation of a mural featuring The MongolZ players in Ulaanbaatar. The global betting company brought in top street artists to create this colourful graffiti. The mural was placed on a building in a neighbourhood popular among youth. Fans loved the idea, and selfies of happy supporters in front of the e-sports players’ graffiti quickly spread across social media.

The revamped The MongolZ had a strong start and successfully qualified for the prestigious BLAST.tv Paris Major. However, the squad couldn’t handle the pressure and was eliminated after the first stage. The management decided to make a few transfers. Bart4k and Annihilation left the team, and 910 and mzinho were brought in as replacements. Interestingly, mzinho was only 15 years old at the time of signing the contract!

The roster was finalised in the fall of 2023. Instead of hasteka, the team welcomed 17-year-old prodigy Senzu. As of early 2024, the average age of the players was just 18.8 years, making them the youngest team in the top 30 Counter-Strike franchises. There were also changes in the management, with kaz taking over as chief executive. After all the adjustments, the puzzle finally came together, and the team began racking up victories.

Exit to Major in Shanghai, triumphs at YaLLa Compass and Thunderpick World Championship

In 2024, the Mongols broke their first-stage curse at a Major and advanced to the next stage of the main Counter-Strike tournament held in Copenhagen. In early June, they also secured a victory at the local MESA Nomadic Masters Spring 2024 championship, earning US$50,000 in prize money.

A week later, The MongolZ claimed the trophy in Abu Dhabi, becoming the strongest team at the YaLLa Compass tournament. The organisation earned a record US$200,000 in prize money at that time. An additional bonus for the team was avenging its past loss to Ninjas in Pyjamas. First, the Mongols beat them 13-6 in the group stage, and then they triumphed over the Swedes by 2-1 in the final.

The squad continues to gain momentum, finishing in second place at the Skyesports Championship 2024 and securing bronze at the Elisa Masters Espoo 2024. The Mongols performed excellently at prestigious tournaments hosted by IEM and ESL. In the fall, they travelled to Berlin and triumphed at the Thunderpick World Championship 2024. The dominant victory earned them US$500,000 in prize money, and they easily defeated the old rivals, Fnatic.

The team’s results are inspiring, and it’s racing towards the top of the HLTV and Valve world rankings. In 2024, the squad was ranked among the top 10 Counter-Strike organisations by HLTV and in the top 5 by Valve. Its impressive victories have rewritten the history of Asian e-sports. Today, The MongolZ is the only team from the region in the Counter-Strike top 20.

In November, the team claimed gold at the Asia-Pacific RMR and successfully qualified for the Major in Shanghai. For the second year in a row, it made it to the most prestigious Counter-Strike tournament. The Shanghai Major took place from November 30 to December 15, 2024, with The MongolZ first securing qualification to the Elimination Stage and later to the Playoffs Stage. The organisation eventually lost to MOUZ in the quarterfinals.

In their current shape, The MongolZ team is capable of competing with any team and even winning a Major. Achieving this will be easier with 1xBet support.

The story of The MongolZ resonates with e-sports fans due to its authenticity and realism. It’s not a Cinderella tale but rather a tough journey from frustrating losses to the top of the e-sports world. The team’s success is helping grow e-sports in the region as young players have shown through their example that with dedication and hard work, anyone can achieve greatness.

A major contribution to the team’s success came from its partner, 1xBet. The comprehensive support of the global betting company allows players to focus on training and their personal development. This story shows that promising teams critically need the help of solid international brands.