The shooter Counter-Strike 2 is the biggest game on Steam overall. With high prize pools and an established professional scene, it is almost impossible for many young talents to penetrate the eSports scene. The game is essentially solidly in the hands of Europeans and Russians. But 5 young Mongolians have now succeeded in breaking into the professional scene and winning a major tournament in Berlin: Their team “MongolZ” is regarded as the strongest team in Asia, with the Mongolian government officially supporting them.
These are the players: The 5 players from MongolZ have been playing together since 2023 and all come from Mongolia:
- The youngest player, rifler Ayush Batbold, is just 17 years old but has already earned $244,000 with Counter-Strike.
- The oldest of the five is 23-year-old Garidmagnai Byambasuren, he is the in-game leader of the team and has made $280,000 with Counter-Strike.
In total, the team has earned $1.34 million. Their highest prize money came in November 2024 when they won the “Thunderpick World Championship 2024” in Berlin, along with a $500,000 prize.
Minister appoints 5 players as nationally recognized athletes
This is now the special part: The Mongolian Minister of Culture, Sports, Tourism, and Youth, Nomin Chinbat, has stated that the five players are to be recognized as “nationally recognized athletes.”
As Dexerto reports, the team now has financial support from the government and can travel to international tournaments more easily than before.
The Mongolian Minister posted about the meeting with the young shooter players on X when they received the special honor.
Team is so good that Mongolia now wants to further promote eSports
This is how players are changing their country’s politics: It is said that the new preferential treatment of the professionals in Counter-Strike 2 is now part of an initiative to professionally promote and recognize eSports in Mongolia, enabling more talents from the country to participate in international competitions.
In short: The 5 guys are so good at Counter-Strike 2 that they have changed their country’s politics regarding the promotion of eSports.
eSports holds a similarly high status in South Korea, where exceptional players in LoL like Faker are even valued so highly that they are exempted from the otherwise compulsory military service. Such privileges are normally only enjoyed by recognized music stars or Olympians.
