CS:GO team set to play Paris Major qualifier under new name, raising questions about IHC

Mongolian players Garidmagnai “⁠bLitz⁠” Byambasuren, Sodbayar “⁠Techno⁠” Munkhbold, Baatarkhuu “⁠Bart4k⁠” Batbold, Tuvshintugs “⁠Annihilation⁠” Nyamdorj, and Chinguun “⁠hasteka⁠” Bayarmaa have revived the tag “The Mongolz” ahead of the BLAST Paris Major Asia RMR and will no longer play under IHC in the tournament, according to the event organizer MESA.

As of this point, it’s unclear if this means that bLitz and his men have effectively parted ways with IHC ahead of the BLAST Paris Major Asia RMR as the organization has been radio silent on Twitter since March 24. The Mongolians peaked at 18th in the world in February, according to HLTV’s ranking, following their participation in IEM Katowice, when they eliminated paiN Gaming, FURIA, and most notably Cloud9 from the tournament. Dot Esports has reached out to IHC but didn’t receive a response at time of writing.

This news comes just mere days after IHC signed hasteka to complete the lineup and fill the void left open by the departure of star player Tengis “sk0R” Batjargal in early March. The community was confused why sk0R left in the first place so close to the RMR, and more questions were raised after he revealed that it was not his decision to leave.

IHC is backed by a cryptocurrency coin of the same name and the future of its esports operations has been in doubt ever since three founders of Ih Bit Global were arrested in February. Dave Lee, the chairman of IHC Esports, said back then that the individuals who were arrested had nothing to do with the management and operation of the esports team.

The Mongolz has been a mainstay tag in Mongolia’s CS:GO scene since 2015, when the country’s then-best player Enkhtaivan “⁠Machinegun⁠” Lkhagva used it with his teammates in premier tournaments like IEM Katowice in 2016 and IEM Oakland in 2017.

The Mongolz are due to play Nikola “Lobanjica” Mijomanović and Shuaib “D0cC” Ahmad’s Twisted Minds in the opening round of the BLAST Paris Major Asia RMR on Thursday, April 6 at 1:30am CT. The tournament will feature eight Asian teams playing in a double-elimination bracket and only the top two will book a spot at the BLAST Paris Major in May, which will be the last Valve-sponsored tournament for CS:GO due to Counter-Strike 2’s pending worldwide launch this summer.