
The first round of ESL Pro League Season 21 is done, and round two is underway with a spicy matchup between G2 Esports and The MongolZ.
The MongolZ has been one of the most interesting teams in Counter-Strike over the last year, and they stand as an interesting foil to G2 Esports. G2 went from having a perennial all-French roster to an international super-team. The MongolZ is a throwback to those days, standing strong as Mongolia’s top team.
Now these teams are set to face off in a tossup. How should bettors approach it, though?
G2 Esports will face The MongolZ in the upper half of the ESL Pro League Season 21 second phase in a best-of-three match. Both teams have a 1-0 record in the stage and need to score three wins to advance to the playoffs. Teams that get three losses are eliminated.
G2 has been generally strong over the last few months, but has played somewhat sparingly. The team flaunted its elite status in the Shanghai Major by placing top four, but went 1-1 in BLAST Bounty Spring 2025 and suffered a comparatively early exit in IEM Katowice 2025. Since October 2024, the team has a 15-8 record.
G2 added Nikita “HeavyGod” Martynenko to its roster in January, and will field this team for ESL Pro League Season 21:
G2 Esports is strong on every map, with the exceptions of Ancient and Train. For Ancient, G2 has a decisively losing roster in recent months. As for Train, G2 is yet to play on the map since its return to the competitive map pool.
The MongolZ has posted a string of solid results in the last few months. It showed that it was a high-tier team by winning the Thunderpick World Championship 2024 event, then cemented that status by placing top eight in the Shanghai Major. From there, it entered elite status by placing top-four in IEM Katowice 2025.
The MongolZ’s roster is operating at an extremely high level with its longstanding roster, which has been unchanged since 2023:
The MongolZ has proven itself as formidable on every map except for Nuke and Train. The MongolZ has a 43% winrate on Nuke over the last six months and a 60% or better winrate everywhere else. Like G2, The MongolZ has not yet played a game on Train.
Over the last year, G2 Esports and The MongolZ have gone head-to-head three times. Two of those were best-of-three series, with both teams winning one match. Their last showdown was a best-of-one in the Shanghai Major, which The MongolZ won 13-10.
G2 Esports is billed as a narrow favorite over The MongolZ. The odds are close to a coin flip, with G2’s moneyline at 1.83 while The MongolZ is at 1.96.
This match is a toss-up, but The MongolZ is the team to pick. G2 might actually advance deeper into the tournament, but the gut feeling here is that The MongolZ will win a close one here.
Think you know who will win? Place your bets here!
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