06.03.20245 min read

PGL Major 2024 Asia RMR News

One thing that was different this time round compared to last year’s RMR for the Asia region was that there were two separate regional qualifiers for East Asia and Southeast Asia. Last year, there were 4 regions consisting of China, Central Asia, Oceania and Asia. On this occasion, there was China, Central Asia, Oceania, East Asia and Southeast Asia.

For this tournament, as before, 8 teams would play in a double-elimination format, and it was interesting to see how the 8 spots were divided between the 5 regions. PGL decided to allocate 5 individual spots to each region, and the remaining 3 places were allocated to each of the highest ranked regions represented in the Valve Regional Standings.

Rank	Points	Team Name	Players
1	1123	TheMongolz	bLitz, Techno, Senzu, mzinho, 910
2	1020	Lynn Vision	Westmelon, z4kr, Starry, Jee, EmiliaQAQ
3	1004	TYLOO	advent, aumaN, kaze, JamYoung, Mercury
4	969	TRAFFIC Tashkent	fr0k, wetty, icy0wlne, kanshineF, Hitori
5	848	Rooster	chelleos, Rackem, nettk, asap, TjP
6	842	Grayhound	Sico, Liazz, aliStair, INS, Vexite
7	803	VERTEX	BRACE, hazr, Valiance, pz, ADDICT
8	772	ATOX	dobu, kabal, MiQ, AccuracyTG, Zesta
9	772	Newhappy	SPine, Tiger, AhahN2, 2x2x, tutu
10	726	Looking For Org	Hatz, sterling, apocdud, Liki, SaVage
11	722	Wings Up	Marek, gas, lan, flying, ChildKing

The rankings, which were updated a year ago on 18 December, were topped by The MongolZ, so there was an extra East Asia spot, Lynn Vision were 2nd, so another spot for China was added, and TRAFFIC Tashkent were fourth, resulting in another spot for Central Asia. This meant that, much to the frustration of the players from Australia and New Zealand, only 1 team from Oceania could qualify.

The teams taking part from each region’s closed qualifiers were announced, but Troublemakers from Southeast Asia and 15 Average Gaming from Central Asia were unable to participate in the tournament, so Myth Avenue Gaming and Twisted Minds took their places. The following 8 teams took part in the RMR.

The 2 favorites this time round were The MongolZ and Grayhound Gaming. The consensus was that TYLOO and Lynn Vision could also be major contenders. However, for ATOX and JiJieHao, a single win would be considered a success.

On the first day of the tournament, The MongolZ secured 2 wins in a row against MAG and Grayhound Gaming on Ancient to stay in the finals and play for the first qualifying spot. On the other side of the bracket, Lynn Vision defeated Twisted Minds and TYLOO for the other place in the final.

On the second day, the lower bracket matches were played out. The most interesting matchup of the day was the fantastic game between ATOX Esports and TYLOO, with the former securing a 2-1 victory. As a result, one of the tournament favorites was eliminated, and ATOX showed that they could compete with the best.

On the final day of the tournament, The MongolZ took down the first final by defeating Lynn Vision 2-0. This is the 4th major tournament for bLitz and Techno, while it is the first major for the other 3 teammates. This meant that Lynn Vision would fall to the bottom bracket, but they still managed to take the second qualifying spot for the Major by beating Grayhound Gaming in the final.

As a result of one qualifying spot being claimed by a Mongolian team, and the other by a Chinese team, this meant that the Australian team would not be able to participate in the Major. It’s the first time since 2016 that an Australian team has not qualified for one. As for Grayhound Gaming, the team’s salaries were reliant upon sticker money from the Majors, and since they would not be participating, the team’s owner decided to cease operations following the RMR.

Formed in 2017, for Lynn Vision, this was their first RMR, and they didn’t hold back the tears after successfully qualifying for their first Major.

Sticker sales have allegedly declined to some degree in the past majors, which is probably due to a Chinese team failing to make it to the last three. However, this time around, a Chinese team will be taking part, so it has been predicted that sticker sales may even surpass those for the BLAST Paris Major.

Anyway, let’s congratulate The MongolZ and Lynn Vision once again on winning the major and for advancing to the next round, as well as for increasing the number of spots in the Asia region.

AuthorTemujin Batbayar

Analyst from Ulaanbaatar specializing in CS2. Has competed in MESA tournaments, worked with Esports TV during the ESL Pro League, and reviewed both the PGL Major Antwerp 2022 and IEM Katowice 2024. Author of his own player evaluation metrics and known for accurate predictions. Has interviewed s1mple and ZywOo. In esports since the days of CS 1.3.