Улаанбаатар
The MongolZ Becomes the First Asian Team to Qualify for the Play-Off Stage of IEM Katowice
Sports
Ulaanbaatar, February 5, 2025 /MONTSAME/. The "Intel Extreme Masters Katowice 2025,” one of the major Counter Strike 2 tournaments organized annually by ESL, is currently underway in Katowice, the Republic of Poland.
With a prize pool of one million dollars, the tournament invited Mongolia’s “The MongolZ” to the group stage based on their world ranking. On February 3, 2025, the Mongolian team defeated “Team Liquid” 2–1 in their first group match, and the next day, they secured a 2–0 win against “GamerLegion,” a Swedish team captained by Erik “ztr” Gustafsson.
With these victories, they have qualified for the tournament’s playoffs and set a new milestone by becoming the first Asian team ever to advance to the playoffs of an IEM series. On February 5, 2025, “The MongolZ” played against "NaVi" for the top spot in their group stage and lost 2:0 but still qualifying to the play-off stage.
