Who would’ve guessed Riyadh would turn into the world’s racism capital?

It’s already taken over the EWC stage, as two national teams fought their way into the grand final, and now they’ve gone and announced a Nations Cup. Racists are eating good.

While The MongolZ vs. Aurora isn’t exactly the blockbuster clash most predicted heading into the event, it’s genuinely refreshing to see these squads contesting the title at an S-tier tournament.

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. First, a look at how we got there.

The marquee matchup of the quarterfinals saw MOUZ take on Falcons in one of the most entertaining series of the entire tournament. Even with NiKo and m0NESY far from their best, the hometown heroes still managed to close out a 2-1 victory. Mostly because instead of nexa or huNter- by their side they now have kyousuke, which is a bit of an upgrade.

But MOUZ? Oh man, what can we even say. They just shut down when it matters most. Too often their individual form disappears, and against teams of this caliber, you simply can’t afford to slack. Outside of torzsi, nobody really showed up.

In the last quarter-final, Aurora made light work of HEROIC, sending them packing and closing the book on tN1R’s HEROIC journey.

As the semis rolled around, it looked like the stage was set for a rematch of the IEM Melbourne and BLAST Rivals grand final between Vitality and Falcons. But that’s the beauty of CS - anything can happen.

The MongolZ managed to take down Vitality 2-1, powered by a standout performance from Techno, while Aurora relied on a dominant XANTARES to completely dismantle Falcons in a blowout. Pretty much no Falcons player even showed up to contest.

As for Vitality, cracks were always going to appear sooner or later. Maintaining the level of consistency they showed in the first half of the year was going to be a monumental task.

Don’t get us wrong, that doesn’t mean they’ve suddenly become a bad team, but losing twice in a row to The MongolZ and then to Falcons in the third place decider - getting crushed 13-3 in the last two maps, nonetheless - is a clear sign that something has stopped clicking.

And so, the Grand Final of the EWC was set. The MongolZ versus Aurora. Mongolia versus Turkey. Two of the most CS-passionate nations in the world going head-to-head.

Unfortunately, the series itself couldn’t have been more anticlimactic.

The MongolZ quickly swept Aurora, with the only real spark from the Turks coming on Mirage, which The MongolZ managed to take in OT. After that, Aurora seemed completely disconnected, dropping Dust2 and Nuke with little resistance.

XANTARES was the lone standout for them, while on the Mongolian side, everyone contributed. But Techno shined the brightest, silencing his doubters and earning his first MVP with a 1.39 rating performance across 11 maps.

Ultimately, The MongolZ fully deserve this victory, a long time coming. They’ve been on an upward trajectory for a while, and this was a well-earned reward for their efforts. Just look at the pride of their countrymen. We’ve seen this at the Major, and now again. Even the Prime Minister tuned in.

Seriously, how can you not cheer for a team that, right after winning their first S-tier trophy in a historic moment for their region, hops on stream and starts playing Minecraft?

Final standings at EWC ended up like this:

1st 🇲🇳 The MongolZ – $500.000
2nd 🇨🇳 Aurora – $230.000
3rd 🇪🇺 Falcons – $130.000
4th 🇪🇺 Vitality – $70.000
5-8th 🇪🇺 MOUZ – $40.000
5-8th 🇸🇪 HEROIC – $40.000
5-8th 🇨🇳 TYLOO – $40.000
5-8th 🇫🇷 3DMAX – $40.000