max: "I believe 9z is as good as it has ever been"

ESL Pro League will be 9z's third Big Event of the year and their crosshairs are set on reaching the playoffs for the first time.

The year started off with plenty of uncertainty surrounding 9z as both of the Brazilian members of the team, coach Rafael "⁠zakk⁠" Fernandes and AWPer Lucas "⁠nqz⁠" Soares, left for Imperial and 00NATION (now Fake Natty), respectively.

Argentinean up-and-comer Santino "⁠try⁠" Rigal returned home in a one-for-one swap with nqz, while zakk's analyst Gustavo "⁠tge⁠" Motta was promoted to head coach. "In a way, it was easy because we already knew them," 9z's in-game leader Maximiliano "⁠max⁠" Gonzalez tells HLTV during a call ahead of ESL Pro League Season 18's Group C, "and it's also nice because try learned new things in 00NATION that he brought back with him."

The new-look 9z was quick to impress, qualifying for IEM Rio while beating teams like 00NATION and Fluxo in the process, but at the same time they showed gaps in their game when they were unable to finish top 8 in the Americas RMR Closed Qualifier, which they chalked up to the team not being able to handle that sort of pressure so early on.

max and company struggled in Rio, where they went out in 13-16th place, and later on at IEM Dallas, where they did marginally better, 9-12th — normal results for a team playing their first two Big Events other than two Major appearances in 2022 with different rosters. They also played a smaller international LAN in June, IEM Katowice Challenger, where they fell to Virtus.pro in the semi-finals.

The South American squad has now been in Europe for a month, which is a breath of fresh air when it comes to making gains. "Practicing in Europe is nice because you get to play against so many different styles of Counter-Strike," max explains, "whereas in Brazil it's a bit repetitive and everyone kind of plays the same style."

The Argentinean organization has long been trying to get its Counter-Strike team out into a more competitive region to expedite their progress. North America was in the crosshairs for some time, but with the state of the game there not in its finest hour, Spain has become a new possibility.

Madrid, where the team bootcamped before flying to Malta, could become their new home if the organization can cut through the red tape of expanding their company to the Iberian country.

ESL Pro League's Group C is possibly the most open of the four. The top two seeds, Natus Vincere and FaZe, are trending down from their top 5 perches in the world ranking while some of their rivals in Malta are unknown quantities or have shown glimpses of potential.

The distances still exist and the favorites are still the favorites, but having seen Movistar Riders shine after struggling online with two new additions and HEROIC fail the Group B triple-elimination gauntlet, this season of Pro League is showing that few teams are currently on solid ground.

The Uruguayan IGL doesn't get ahead of himself, though, and knows that some of the best players in the world will be sitting across from him, so he is cautious in regard to their opener against FaZe. "The first game is not a big deal, it's not necessarily what will decide the whole tournament for us," he says, "although we know it's an important match and it's the match in which we need to get rid of any nervousness."

Indeed, getting rid of the jitters could be the first step towards enjoyment and a key to unlock 9z's potential the way it was for another Spanish-speaking team, Movistar Riders, who struggled for years before breaking out internationally.

"We're a team that is at its best when we're enjoying ourselves," max says, "so we're going to try and just do that so we can be the best version of ourselves. That's what's most important for us here."

The Major may have been beyond reach this year, but by playing their first Big Events outside of the Major circuit, 9z are now starting to gain valuable experience upon which to grow. "I believe this team is as good as it has ever been," max concludes. "We know a lot more about the game than we did last year, and I'm sure next year we'll be even better than we are now." Big Event playoff experience and a move to Europe would go a long way in making sure that future becomes a reality.