For the second time in the past month, teams around the world clashed in a major Counter-Strike 2 tournament. The YaLLa Compass saw many Global Finals contenders like Astralis, Fnatic, and BetBoom. The Counter-Strike 2 Champion of Champions was even in the competition: Eternal Fire.
However, after nearly a week, it was another team who stole the crown. The MongolZ are your 2024 YaLLa Compass champions.
The tournament's group stage featured 12 teams split into 2 groups. The top 3 teams from each group would advance with the best team in each group getting a bye to the semi-finals. In group A, the MongolZ dominated, finishing with a 4-1 record and a round differential of plus 14.
Ninjas in Pyjamas were not far behind as they also finished with a 4-1 record. However, their round differential was slightly lower at positive 11 which earned them 2nd place in group A. 3rd place went to Astralis who finished with a record of 3-2. Yet, flashes of their prowess showed as they finished with a tournament-high plus 15 round differential.
Heroic, ENCE, and Sashi Esports all finished with a below .500 record and were eliminated from the tournament, posting a combined negative 40 round differential.
In group B, Eternal Fire struggled. After a great showing in the CCS Finals, they finished the the group stage with a 1-4 record. This showing would only be good for 5th place in the group and a flight back home.
Additionally, Fellow Champion of Champions competitor Big suffered a similar fate finishing with a lone win and a last-place finish. In contrast, Complexity had slightly better luck with a 2-3 record. However, those two wins weren’t enough. Complexity finished 4th in the group and was the last team eliminated. Fnatic was 3rd place in group B team with a surprising round differential.
Despite losing two games, they posted a plus 13 round differential good for the 4th-best round differential in the tournament. Team BetBoom did not have this same gaudy round differential. Despite being 4-1, their only loss came 1 to 13 leading to a modest plus five round differential for the group stage.
The 1st place team in group B was Furia Esports. After a shaky start losing to Big, Furia would tear off four straight wins. This led the team to a positive 14 round differential and a ticket to the semi-finals.
The quarterfinals of the YaLLa Compass 2024 hosted two matches: BetBoom vs Astralis and Fnatic vs Ninjas in Pyjamas. Of these two only one went the entire three games. Astralis started off strong winning the first match by 8.
In the second match, BetBoom had a strong counter punch winning the match 13 to 7. In the final game, both teams went back and forth, but in the end, Astralis pulled out the victory in an overtime 16 to 14 victory. The other quarterfinal match was not nearly as competitive. Ninjas in Pyjamas started the series off strong in the first game, winning 13 to 6. Then, despite a good effort from Fnatic, NIP held off the desperate team in a 13 to 11 victory.
The semifinals of the tournament featured the No. 1 seeds in action for the first time since the group stage. In Furia’s match against Ninjas in Pyjamas, that rest seemed to turn into rust as Furia would lose both games 13 to 7.
This rest seemed to do the opposite for The MongolZ. They came out swinging in a 13 to 7 victory of their own.
Astralis did not lie down easily though as they came back with a 13 to 6 victory of their own. With one game separating both teams from the finals, it was all out warfare. After over 40 rounds, The MongolZ were able to pull out the victory and punch their ticket to the finals.
The YaLLa Compass 2024 finals shaped up to be a clash of formidable foes. In the entire tournament, Ninjas in Pyjamas had only lost one game: the group stage game against The MongolZ.
On the other hand, The MongolZ had just come out of a three game brawl with Astralis who had the highest round differential in the group stage at plus 15. In the first game, NIP got the upper hand as they secured the 4-point victory.
The same could not be said for game two as The MongolZ fought winning the second game 13 to 7. With hundreds of thousands of dollars and the YaLLa Compass crown on the line, The MongolZ rose to the occasion, defeating Ninjas in Pyjamas 13 to 6 completing the reverse sweep.
With this win, The Mongolz secured the tournament as well as the $200,000 prize money. This win marks one of the first for the team a sign they may become one of the best Counter-Strike 2 forces in the Esports community for years to come.