If you had told us paiN vs. The MongolZ was going to be a semi-final at the start of this thing...we probably would've believed you. We're sick like that.

The Mongolian side had a lethargic start to the series, conceding the pistol and following four rounds to an energetic paiN defense. They even had a great read to go B on the fifth round, but nqz shut it down with some savvy positioning. B site is no stranger to Brazilian AWP brilliance.

Little did paiN know, but that was the last round they'd win for the remainder of the map.

The MongolZ took a timeout, calmly talked things over, and answered back with a somewhat chaotic A-split. They didn't even need 910's AWP to get things going. After a rocky start, and with the monkey finally off their back, they proceeded to go into complete cruise control.

MongolZ took complete control of the rest of the half, and that continued into their CT side, capitalized by mzinho spoiling a bomb plant with a smoke spam, following it up with a flying MP9 off of Stairs to take down two more Brazilians. A Mongolian MP9 rarely arrives lubed.

Everything felt like a foregone conclusion after that, and the Brazilian side just couldn't buy an opening kill anywhere. On Round 18, a rare miss from 910 gave them an opening. A sliver of hope. But they just couldn't convert.

The MongolZ started Mirage questionably, but nobody had any questions after they put in a 13-0 run to win their map pick. Onto Anubis.

Spoiler alert: no further questions were asked of The Mongolz.

The map kicked off with shades of Groundhog Day; a pistol round win from paiN gave us pause that this one might be different, but that was short lived.

In Round three, the Mongolians hit the B site with an authoritative split, and snow took it upon himself to underhand a flash through the CT smoke in an attempt to stall the plant. He was punished, and that moment was a great analogue for the whole series.

paiN was throwing hail-mary passes with double digits on the clock. For you Europeans, that’s like playing long balls right from kick off. Their mental was entirely broken, and The MongolZ knew they had it wrapped up in the very early stages. The hearty Mongolian smiles were brighter than the monitors they peeked out from behind.

The Brazilian side was clawing for any possible advantage they could glean; they even had a 2v1 against Senzu on A in the tenth round, but he shut the door with clinical precision. He did it again in Round 15 with an ice cold full-stick of the bomb. Pros. Don’t. Fake.

910 put a bow on the series with a triple from Connector, and just like that, not only did The MongolZ become the first East Asian team to make a Major final, they’re also the youngest.

Pimp said it best in the post-game: “Just some kids playing Counter-Strike.”