YaLLa Compass Playoffs: TheMongolz to Semis

After what feels like ages with just Double Elimination GSL events, YaLLa Compass is a breath of fresh air. The event features a smattering of top teams and a solid talent lineup, giving us a feeling of what the event calendar may look like in 2025. More excitingly, its Round Robin Bo1 setup has given us one amazing playoff lineup.

The biggest story from the event has to be the rise of TheMongolz. Garidmagnai "bLitz" Byambasuren's squad has long been one of the strongest non-EU teams in the world. In the YaLLa Compass, the team streaked through their group. They topped their group by beating solid rosters like ENCE, NIP, and Heroic. The only mark on their record was the loss to Astralis, by which point they had already locked in the semis.

Their fundamentals are solid, and when they press the go button, they have the commitment to absolutely stick with it. Add to that Usukhbayar "910" Banzragch and Azbayar "Senzu" Munkhbold's 1.34 and 1.21 ratings, respectively, and TheMongolz looks set for success at YaLLa Compass. They'll face the winner of Astralis and BetBoom, and I think they'll back themselves to take either down. We may be witnessing the breakout of TheMongolz.

Over in Group B, Furia has once again come out swinging. Kaike "KSCERATO" Cerato is dropping 1.35 ratings again, and Yuri "yuurih" Boian is stepping up. That may be due to a dead team vibe going around in the team, with rumors emerging of a potential Felipe "skullz" Medeiros signing. BetBoom's success is comparatively complex. Where you'd expect stars like Aleksandr "KaiR0N-" Anashkin to pop off, it's been a mild all-around success. A 13-1 loss to Furia was the worst result of the group, but the team still looks competitive.

If Vladislav "nafany" Gorshkov can lead his team and find a chink in Astralis' armor, then the team can find success at YaLLa Compass. Meanwhile, for Furia, a match against NIP will see them sit pretty, but Fnatic, with Benjamin "blameF" Bremer's star power, may be a match for KSCERATO's carry potential.

In the top 6, the star performers may be a distinguishing factor. With blameF, KSCERATO, yuurih, and 910 all gunning for MVP performances, they look poised for success. But if there was a single winner to pick, the solid money would still go with Astralis. That's based on their proven tactical prowess, dev1ce's emerging leadership, and solid fragging output across the board. So who will come out on top, and can TheMongolz really go all the way? Tune in to the matches tomorrow to find out.

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