After three major playoffs appearances in a row, TheMongolZ crumbled at IEM Cologne 2026, as 9z dominated across two maps to lock-in their own top eight finish. The win marks the first playoffs appearance for a South American squad without a Brazilian core. Meanwhile for MongolZ, their post-Senzu era continues to be shaky at best.
Related—IEM Cologne 2026 Major: Schedule, teams, prize pool, format and more
Team Rosters – The MongolZ vs. 9z – IEM Cologne Major 2026
| The MongolZ | 9z |
|---|---|
| Garidmagnai “bLitz” Byambasuren | Maximiliano “max” Gonzalez |
| Sodbayar “Techno4K” Munkhbold | Matias “HUASOPEEK” Ibañez |
| Usukhbayar “910” Banzragch | Luciano “luchov” Herrera |
| Ayush “mzinho” Batbold | Ignacio “meyern” Meyer |
| Anarbileg “cobrazera” Uuganbayar | Franco “dgt” Garcia |
| Erdenedalai “maaRaa” Bayanbat (C) | Bruno “BIT” Lima (C) |
The MongolZ’s season has been defined by the continuing integration of cobrazera into the roster. While the youngster is far from a perfect replacement for Azbayar “Senzu” Munkhbold, the team as a whole has adapted well, putting Mzinho and 910 into higher resource positions instead. Meanwhile for 9z, luchov is by far the team’s strongest player. The 25-year-old has averaged a team-high 1.15 rating across the Major so far. Despite that engine, The MongolZ look the stronger squad in Stage 3, with a loss to BetBoom the only mark against them.
Match Recap – The MongolZ vs. 9z – IEM Cologne Major 2026
- The MongolZ removed Anubis
- 9z removed Mirage
- The MongolZ picked Inferno
- 9z picked Overpass
- 9z removed Ancient
- The MongolZ removed Nuke
- Dust2 was left over
Inferno – 9z T-side overruns struggling MongolZ – 13-8
The MongolZ’ T-side started with a pistol win, which Mzinho’s 4k clutch converted into an early lead. Rifles came out for the South American side in round four, and the luchov-max duo from B immediately locked-in a two-man advantage, and led the way for a 9z tie up at 3-3. Two for MongolZ put 9z’s economy at risk, but a crucial meyern clutch propelled them back into the half. A flawless CT-hold in round 11, should have meant a 7-5 lead for 9z, but The MongolZ hit a barrage of pistol headshots to equalise at half time.
An important 3k from @Mzinhocs in the pit keeps @1mongolz in this 🙌#IEM pic.twitter.com/rB0reQdvqv
— ESL Counter-Strike (@ESLCS) June 15, 2026
Mirroring the first half, 9z’s T-side took three off the pistol, before a brilliant A-hold gave MongolZ their first in the rifle round. The Mongolian side was struggling on the CT-side, with 910 getting caught out in back-to-back rounds allowing 9z to reach double digits. A single round was all MongolZ could earn, before 9z locked-in matchpoint. And while a 1-hp defuse did extend play, but 9z quickly rectified to close the map out.
Overpass – dgt’s hot start sweeps out MongolZ – 13-8
Picking up right where they left off dgt put up back-to-back multi-kills to give his team an early T-side lead once more. A rifle win for TheMongolZ was a brief reprieve for the CTs, before luchov and HUASOPEEK turned around a 2v3 to keep 9z in control. While Mzinho continued to perform well, it was the addition of cobrazera’s rifle impact that finally allowed TheMongolZ to put up a solid defensive half with seven.
ACE from @dgtcsgo kicks off Overpass 😲#IEM pic.twitter.com/9WghN1vAKW
— ESL Counter-Strike (@ESLCS) June 15, 2026
Much like Inferno, though, 9z was firing on a different level in the second half. With every kill answered back with two, 9z rushed their way to double digits. The writing was very much on Overpass’ graffitied wall, and the South American side quickly locked in the win as dgt and luchov dominated across the map.
Series Statistics – TheMongolZ vs. 9z
| Player | Kills | Assists | Deaths | ADR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9Z dgt | 44 | 17 | 21 | 109.2 |
| 9Z luchov | 37 | 15 | 26 | 99.7 |
| TMGZ mzinho | 34 | 4 | 30 | 86.5 |
| 9Z HUASOPEEK | 29 | 6 | 25 | 68.2 |
| TMGZ cobrazera | 27 | 6 | 34 | 68.6 |
| 9Z meyern | 23 | 12 | 20 | 51.8 |
| 9Z max | 22 | 15 | 26 | 65.5 |
| TMGZ bLitz | 21 | 13 | 34 | 75.0 |
| TMGZ 910 | 21 | 10 | 29 | 57.1 |
| TMGZ Techno4k | 15 | 9 | 28 | 43.9 |
