Grayhound, TheMongolZ to represent APAC at BLAST Paris Major

From four to eight — the APAC RMR has finally expanded ahead of the BLAST Paris Major in May. Only two teams can represent the wider Asian region in France — who will rise to the occasion and make it to CS:GO’s final Major from the BLAST Paris APAC RMR?

For most, it was a three-team race for the two APAC spots at Paris.

In the end, it would be the ‘Hounds who emerged first, taking down the Mongolian squad 2-1 (16-19, 16-9, 16-12) and exacting revenge for two straight defeats in the upper bracket of the APAC RMR.

Captain Joshua “INS” Potter (79-60, 1.37 rating) led from the front, with all five members of the Grayhound squad taking turns providing impact in the upper final.

The win means Grayhound will make their first back-to-back appearances at Majors as an organisation.

Question marks were raised over IHC — now TheMongolZ — following sk0r’s departure ahead of the RMR.

But even though they fell short against Grayhound, they bounced right back to defeat Rare Atom in the consolidation final 2-0 (16-11, 16-11) and secure a spot at their third straight Major as a core line-up.

Rare Atom emerged triumphant over TYLOO 2-0 (16-12, 16-13) in the final of four best-of-three’s on Saturday, finally putting to bed the battle for China’s best team, but once more failed to qualify to a Major.

The series was plagued with tech pauses — one of many across a troubled weekend. Already behind schedule, the series continued well into the early morning in Mongolia, with the players still on-server and competing after 3am local time.

Further on-site investigations revealed a myriad of competitive integrity breaches — both in the Asia and the Americas RMR’s — whereby Valve-enforced rules were broken over the course of the four-day event.

Breaches included but were not limited to stage and coaching violations, internet access, improper map veto rulesets and broken communication equipment.

Compounded by health issues for multiple players and the technical faults that forced well over a full day’s play to be lost, it most certainly has been an APAC RMR to forget.

What won’t be forgotten, however, is Middle Eastern qualifier Twisted Minds, whose rampage of Asia with wins over Vertex and Eruption came as a shock to many pundits and fans.

With TM’s frontman Nikola “Lobanjica” Mijomanović loudly declaring the Middle Eastern qualifier squad had barely practiced for the event, Twisted Minds pulled shock upsets over Vertex and Eruption to finish in the top four.

They would then push Rare Atom to maximum regulation on Mirage, with Dutch star Shuaib “D0cC” Ahmad (52-37, 1.43 rating) dropping 34 kills in 30 rounds, but ultimately fell short 16-14.

Out of gas, the squad ultimately fell 16-7 on Vertigo.

Grayhound and TheMongolZ will return to action in early May, where the Paris Major Challenger Stage will begin.

BLAST Paris APAC RMR Schedule & Results

The BLAST Paris APAC RMR saw eight teams battle through a double elimination bracket. Two losses meant the end of the road to Paris.

The winners through the upper and lower brackets will both be seeded into the Challenger Stage at the Major in May.

BLAST Paris APAC RMR Schedule — Day 1 (April 6)

BLAST Paris APAC RMR Schedule — Day 2 (April 7)

BLAST Paris APAC RMR Schedule — Day 3 (April 8)

BLAST Paris APAC RMR Schedule — Day 4 (April 9)

BLAST Paris APAC RMR Squads

With sk0r out, Chinguun “hasteka” Bayarmaa has joined The MongolZ across from fellow Mongolian squad Clutch.

Erdenedalai “maaRaa” Bayanbat remains coach of the squad through their transition to The MongolZ, with the Mongolian veteran still very much a part of a scene he pioneered throughout his days as a player back in 2015.

Should Grayhound survive the RMR, the GH tag will feature in back-to-back Majors for the first time since 2019. The core of the squad will be chasing their fourth straight Major appearance.

TYLOO are looking to return to the pinnacle CS:GO stage for the first time since PGL Stockholm in 2021. The Swedish Major was the last we saw of long-time Chinese veteran Xu “somebody” Haowen, with TYLOO since acquiring Jin “aristo” Shengjun and Hong Kong native Cheung “Freeman” Wing-hei.

Twisted Minds will attend the RMR with names well known to the wider community, with both Shuaib “D0cC” Ahmad and Nikola “Lobanjica” Mijomanović popular streamers.