Two of the steadiest and most consistent teams in Counter-Strike esports are facing off in the IEM Dallas playoffs, but should you bet on The MongolZ or Aurora Gaming?
In a scene of fast-rising superteams and dramatic comebacks, it’s important to cherish the squads that just go out and play the game at a high level. The MongolZ and Aurora Gaming fit that bill to a T. The two squads have played in almost every prominent tournament so far in 2025 and consistently perform.
One of them is guaranteed a spot in the IEM Dallas semifinals, but who will take the win? Here’s a full betting breakdown of the match.
WINNER TO SEMI-FINAL! Vitality vs TheMongolz – HIGHLIGHTS – IEM Dallas 2025 | CS2
Aurora Gaming and The MongolZ will face off in a best-of-three playoffs match in IEM Dallas on May 23, 2025. IEM Dallas is using a single-elimination format for the playoffs, so the loser of the match heads home with a $12,500 fifth-place prize. The winner moves onto the semifinals where they will face MOUZ.
Fans wouldn’t know it with all the talk of Ilya “m0NESY” Osipov and Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyljev, but İsmailсan “XANTARES” Dörtkardeş may have put together the best individual performance of IEM Dallas so far. Alongside great stats and key clutches, he’s also just done his job well, cracking open sites and shutting down retakes. It’s far from an individual effort as the whole team is pulling its weight, but XANTARES has been an exemplary player in Dallas.
Much of the same can be said for The MongolZ’s Ayush “mzinho” Batbold, too. Though he’s not actually the highest-rated player on his team, he’s mixed together individual heroics with generally strong fundamentals. This is going to be one of the head-to-heads to watch in this match.
The MongolZ went 2-1 in the IEM Dallas group stage. Before this, the team scored a playoffs berth in PGL Astana, but suffered a quarterfinals elimination.
While IEM Dallas and the BLAST Austin Major have become unfortunately mired by late substitutions and visa issues, but the full The MongolZ roster made the trip to Texas:
The MongolZ has been struggling on Anubis in recent months, going 4-7 on the map in the last three months including losses to Complexity Gaming and 3DMAX. That’s the only real blemish on the team’s record though, as it’s even or better elsewhere. That includes a 10-5 record on Mirage and 8-3 record on Inferno.
Aurora Gaming overcame an early upset loss to Heroic in the IEM Dallas group stage, and won three in a row to secure a playoffs spot.
Aurora is fielding the all-Turkish ex-Eternal Fire roster, with its former Russian squad now competing as Astrum.
Aurora Gaming has been very strong on Mirage, Dust 2, and Anubis, winning 70% or more of its games on those maps across PGL Bucharest, PGL Astana, and IEM Dallas. The team has a worrying 0-5 record on Train during that time though. It has to eat those L’s too, as Ancient remains its permaban.
WINNER TO PLAYOFFS! Aurora vs HEROIC – HIGHLIGHTS – IEM Dallas 2025 | CS2
These two rosters have played against each other many, many times. Dating back to the PGL Copenhagen Major in February 2024, they’ve played seven times. The record stands at 4-3 in favor of The MongolZ. The most recent match was quite recent though, with XANTARES and company knocking The MongolZ out of the PGL Astana playoffs with a 2-0 score.
The MongolZ are a narrow betting favorite against Aurora Gaming in the IEM Dallas playoffs. Though Aurora won their last match, they’re a 2.08 underdog. Betting sites seem to be favoring The MongolZ’s historical advantage, as their moneyline is set at 1.73.
Aurora Gaming should be able to get the win here. The lines have grown closer since their last match, but betting sites have been consistent in favoring The MongolZ over Aurora. That didn’t pay off last time and there’s a good chance it doesn’t pay off here, either.
Think you know who will win? Place your bets here!
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