The captain of 9z, Maximiliano "max" González, briefly commented on his team’s advancement to the group stage of IEM Cologne 2024 in Cologne. In an interview with HLTV, the Uruguayan esports player mentioned that the team isn’t looking too far ahead and is focusing solely on their next opponent.
"We always take it step by step. First, we were only thinking about winning the first match, then we started thinking about MIBR. Now, we’ll focus on the next match. It’s going to be a tough game because we’re up against a strong team, but we’re going for the win."
González also shared that 9z’s success at the FiReLEAGUE 2024 Global Finals (1st place) and IEM Dallas 2024 (3rd-4th place) helped the players gain confidence in their abilities.
"The FiReLEAGUE trophy helped us because we needed that title, and it was like, ‘Phew, we did it.’ Now it’s important to keep doing what we’ve been doing because we’re on the right track.
The tournament in Dallas helped us build confidence. We showed at a Tier-1 event that we can beat any team in the world. It gave us a huge boost of confidence."
9z won two consecutive matches in the Play-In stage at IEM Cologne 2024 and advanced to the group stage of the championship. In the first round of the bracket, the team defeated 3DMAX, followed by a victory over MIBR.