FaZe and The MongolZ Crash Out Early as FISSURE Playground 3 Delivers Major Upsets

Two of Counter-Strike's best-known teams have suffered surprisingly early exits from FISSURE Playground 3 in China, with FaZe eliminated by magic and The MongolZ losing to fellow Mongolian side 5star after just two matches each.

FISSURE Playground 3 has produced two major surprises in its opening days, with FaZe and The MongolZ both eliminated from the Counter-Strike 2 tournament in joint-last place.

The event is being held in Suzhou, China, from September 8 to 13 and features 16 international teams. During the group stage, teams compete in a double-elimination format: losing one match moves a team into the lower bracket, while a second defeat ends its tournament. Only six teams will eventually advance to the playoffs.

FaZe's exit was particularly unexpected after the team had recently climbed back to No. 10 in Valve's global ranking. Their tournament began with a 0-2 defeat against Swedish organisation Alliance, who won Ancient 13-9 and Nuke 13-11. FaZe were therefore immediately placed in an elimination match against magic.

That match turned into one of the most dramatic series of the tournament so far. magic won Ancient 16-14 after overtime, FaZe responded with a 13-10 victory on Dust2, but the deciding Cache also went beyond regulation. magic eventually prevailed 19-16, winning the series 2-1 and sending FaZe home after only two matches.

For a reader less familiar with professional Counter-Strike, the significance lies in the difference in expectations. FaZe is one of the most established organisations in the game and entered the tournament after a period of improving results. magic, by contrast, arrived as a replacement team and was ranked outside the tournament's leading group. Eliminating FaZe therefore represented a major opportunity for the less-established roster.

The MongolZ experienced an equally difficult start. They lost their opening series 1-2 to Brazilian team MIBR before entering a must-win match against 5star, another Mongolian squad. The result was an even bigger shock: 5star won 2-0, taking Inferno 13-9 and Nuke 13-11.

The upset carried extra significance because The MongolZ had been the dominant Mongolian Counter-Strike team for more than three years and had regularly competed against top international opposition. Before the event, 5star were ranked far below them globally, and The MongolZ had not previously lost a LAN match to another Mongolian team during their current era.

The MongolZ are also going through a period of roster changes. Following the departures of Senzu and mzinho, the team brought cobrazera into the lineup for the tournament in place of Techno as it searched for a new balance. Those changes provided additional context for an unusually early exit from an international event.

With both FaZe and The MongolZ gone almost immediately, FISSURE Playground 3 has become far less predictable than expected. The tournament continues through September 13, with the playoffs beginning after the group stage and the Grand Final scheduled as a best-of-five series.

For FaZe and The MongolZ, the result is a reminder of how quickly the competitive balance in Counter-Strike can change. For teams such as magic and 5star, however, the opening days in Suzhou have demonstrated the opposite: even comparatively unknown rosters can now punish established names, making FISSURE Playground 3 one of the more unpredictable tournaments of the current CS2 season.