max: "We'll consider any result other than qualifying for the Major as failure"

9z beat 00NATION to go 1-0 up at the Americas RMR, and Maximiliano "⁠max⁠" Gonzalez played a big role in the victory.

The South American mix of 9z came back from a 7-14 deficit against 00NATION to force overtime before securing a 19-16 win on Overpass. max's men secured their advance to the 1-0 pool of IEM Road to Rio 2022 Americas RMR and will now face Imperial for a chance to go 2-0 up.

The Uruguayan in-game leader joined us after the victory to have a chat regarding 9z's good start to the RMR, Lucas "⁠nqz⁠" Soares' performance, and how it feels to play against old teammate and friend Santino "⁠try⁠" Rigal.

Congratulations on the victory, you are now 1-0 at the RMR after beating 00NATION, how are you feeling right now?

It's a fantastic feeling to win the first match, it's also a relief because now you are running 1-0 and begin to add points that you'll benefit from at the end. In the previous Regional Major Ranking event, we started 0-1, and then we went 0-2, so starting with a victory this time it's something good and different.

You were 7-14 down on before moving to the CT side of Overpass, how did you recover from that scoreline?

Firstly, I asked my team to calm down and told them that the map was still winnable. We knew we had a very strong CT side and so we believed in ourselves, we made good calls and that drove us to victory.

nqz was fantastic against another Brazilian team, how does it feel to have a player that performs that well on the day?

The truth is that introducing nqz to the squad was a very good decision. He's not only a very good player, but he's also a great person and a really calm one, and he transmits that energy to the rest of the squad. He contributes a lot to the team, and It's great to have him in on board, I enjoy playing with him a lot.

What are your expectations now that you are 1-0? Are you confident you have what it takes to qualify again for the Major?

Yes. We have worked really hard coming into this event and that's what we are aiming towards. We'll consider any result other than qualifying for the Major as a failure, this is the reason we came here.

There are other South and Central American teams at the RMR, are there any young players that have caught your eye?

I really like brnz4n from MIBR, who's playing right now actually, then piriaz1n from O PLANO is also playing really well lately. Another young player that I like is meyern from Isurus.

Obviously you played against try, your old teammate. How did you feel during the match? Also because you beat him and 00NATION once before at the previous RMR

There are a lot of conflicting feelings right now because we are more than just ex-teammates, we are still friends. We have a good relationship, and not just me but everyone else from the squad too, we wish him well. Obviously, we don't like facing him because we'd like for both to qualify, but Counter-Strike is like that and we have to win.

buda is the latest addition to the squad, he's a product of the academy so talk me through the change. How are things working so far? How are you integrating him?

We have been practicing as much as possible to try to integrate buda into the squad in the best way possible. The truth is that I see him working well, he's an active player that communicates a lot, and that's a positive trait that the team really needed. We are trying to integrate him slowly, he understands things well and tends to learn quickly so it was a good decision in the end.