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The MongolZ sent home by paiN
The wait for the first-ever Asian team at the Playoffs of IEM Cologne will go on for a bit longer following The MongolZ's 1-2 loss to paiN in the lower bracket Group A semi-final at IEM Cologne 2024.
paiN's pick of Anubis saw The MongolZ start with a big 9-3 lead before the Brazilian side made the comeback stick on their T side as it was biguzera with an incredible 1v3 in the final round of regulation to push the map to overtime. mzinho's quad kill in overtime saw The MongolZ lock in map point and pick up a 16-13 win.
A couple of early clutches from nqz made sure paiN's CT half on Mirage locked in six rounds. A sharp Mzinho on the USPs saw The MongolZ lock in the second pistol but it wasn't the most clean defensive hold from the Asian team, as they dropped another 3v1 to biguzera which saw paiN move on to secure Mirage at 13-10. Nuke started with a tied half but a scrappy defensive hold meant that paiN ran away with a 13-8 win, with nqz having a strong performance.
While The MongolZ's campaign at Cologne ends with the loss, paiN will now take on G2 in the Group A lower bracket final for a spot in the Playoffs.