The MongolZ landed at Lisbon Humberto Delgado Airport July 10 morning at 06:12 local time — 4 days ahead of the BLAST Spring Finals 2026 opener. 800+ Mongolian-diaspora fans gathered at the arrivals hall, holding Mongolian flags and traditional morin khuur (horse-head fiddle) music. The greeting sets the tone for what is expected to be the highest Mongolian-diaspora attendance at a tier-1 CS2 event in history.
The airport greeting
The Mongolian-diaspora fan gathering was organised by the Portuguese-Mongolian Cultural Association Lisbon — a small community of approximately 3,200 Mongolian residents in Portugal, primarily concentrated in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area. Association organizer Nyamdorj Batbayar (Lisbon community leader):
"We are 3,200 Mongolians living in Portugal. Most of us are here for our children's education, our work, our new lives. But this morning we are 800 people at the airport. We gave up sleep. We took public transportation from Cascais, Sintra, Almada. Some of us drove from Porto in the middle of the night. bLitz, Senzu, mzinho, blitz, Techno — they are not just five players. They are our connection to home. When we cheer for them at Altice Arena, we cheer for Mongolia. This morning, we welcomed them home before they went to work."
The team's reaction
bLitz (translated from Mongolian, on video captured by fans and shared to Twitter):
"We landed at 06:12. Six hours since we left Ulaanbaatar. We were tired. Then we walked out of arrivals and we saw 800 of you. The morin khuur music started playing. My grandmother sent me a video from Ulaanbaatar last week — she was listening to the same song on state television during our medal ceremony. We are not just five players today. We are 3,200 Mongolians in Portugal — and their families in Mongolia, and everyone at Altice Arena next week. We came here to win. Now we come here to win for you."
Cultural moment: the morin khuur ensemble
The Portuguese-Mongolian Cultural Association had rehearsed a specific piece — "Great Mongol Nation March" (Их Монгол улсын марш), Mongolia's national march — for the arrival. A 12-person ensemble played the piece as The MongolZ walked through arrivals. The moment was recorded and posted to bLitz's personal Twitter, reaching 3.8M engagements within 4 hours.
Portuguese local reaction
Portuguese esports community response was warm. Notable reactions:
- SportTV Portugal: Live-covered the airport arrival on their morning news bulletin — the first CS2-esports arrival to make Portuguese network television since IEM Rio 2022.
- Lisbon Mayor João Pedro Rodrigues (via social media): "Welcome to Lisbon, The MongolZ. Portugal is honoured to host the defending Major champions."
- Portuguese pro players (via Twitter): Chelo (paiN), FalleN (FURIA), and Portuguese pro-adjacent talent all posted welcome messages.
The team's Lisbon schedule
- July 10 (arrival day): Rest + light unpacking. Team is at Corinthia Hotel Lisbon (BLAST partner hotel).
- July 11-13: Scrim block sessions at Altice Arena satellite facility (separate from event floor). Scrim partners scheduled: MOUZ (July 11), Falcons (July 12), Spirit (July 13 morning).
- July 14: Media day morning + QF1 vs FaZe evening (18:00 CEST session).
The MongolZ Twitch schedule during Spring Finals
bLitz and Senzu confirmed their Twitch channels will run live co-stream during The MongolZ Spring Finals matches. Co-stream schedule:
- July 14 QF1 vs FaZe (18:00 CEST kick-off): bLitz co-streams. Post-match co-stream with Senzu joining.
- Post-QF1 recovery day: Both bLitz and Senzu run regular streams.
- Semifinals (if The MongolZ qualify): Combined bLitz + Senzu co-stream in a special format.
- Grand Final (if The MongolZ qualify): Both bLitz and Senzu co-stream the Grand Final live from Altice Arena media area.
