Can 9z surprise again as they adjust to life in Europe?

The South American squad ended the Spring season on a high and are now embarking on a new journey in Europe, starting at the IEM Cologne Play-in.

Counter-Strike fans can largely be separated into two categories: those who support their local team along national or regional lines because they feel most represented by a nation or culture — a dying breed as teams are becoming increasingly international with no defined geographical anchors — and those who follow the game's brightest stars and best-performing teams. In sports, where one is often bound by geography, tradition, or both, glory chasers are generally scoffed at. Esports, on the other hand, largely operate on a global scale and can be rather decentralized due to their virtual nature.

9z's fans tend to belong to the first group, coming together from Spanish-speaking countries in Latin America and even Spain. But there's also a smaller subset of romantic fans who do not belong to either of the aforementioned groups, a dying breed in the age of influencers, who find it appealing to invest emotionally in the minnows, the underdogs, the downtrodden, and those who fight against the odds — even despite the palpable risk of it bringing more heartbreak than glory.

Those fans, wherever they may be from, now have another team to cheer on while they keep up with the likes of The MongolZ, Eternal Fire, and paiN, as La Violeta is tasked with proving that the recent IEM Dallas semi-final run and FiReLEAGUE grand final victory over fnatic were not just a flash in the pan.

Some may have even been following 9z for years since it's not the first time the club's name is in the headlines. They became the first Spanish-speaking team from Latin America to qualify for a Major in 2022 when they scraped through the PGL Major Antwerp Americas RMR with a 2-0 victory against paiN in the sixth-place decider match, and repeated the feat at the IEM Road to Rio RMR with a cleaner 3-1 record. Since then, they have been making the occasional appearance at a Big Event, albeit generally without much success.

The team underwent some deep changes in early 2022 before breaking out on the world stage at the Antwerp Major's RMR. Veteran in-game leader Bruno "⁠BIT⁠" Fukuda Lima hung up his mouse and took a coaching job at MIBR, while the young and up-and-coming AWPer Santino "⁠try⁠" Rigal, a product of the team's academy who made waves with the main team in 2020 and 2021, left to join Marcelo "⁠coldzera⁠" David and Epitacio "⁠TACO⁠" de Melo in a 00NATION roster which also included G2's Mario "⁠malbsMd⁠" Samayoa.

Maximiliano "⁠max⁠" Gonzalez stepped up under the leadership of Rafael "⁠zakk⁠" Fernandes and took the reins as the team's new caller while the new signings, David "⁠dav1deuS⁠" Tapia Maldonado and Luca "⁠Luken⁠" Nadotti, — and later Lucas "⁠nqz⁠" Soares —, provided more than enough firepower to propel the team forward.

It's also important to note that star rifler Franco "⁠dgt⁠" Garcia stayed put. "I've been in 9z a long time, and I know how it works," he tells HLTV. "My life is built around that. I'm not saying I'll be here forever, but I want to make it with this team and with these players.

"I've had calls from different teams over the years, but Counter-Strike isn't very big in our region, in Argentina, Uruguay, and Chile, so I want to make it far with this team so that more people from our region will be attracted to the game, follow us, and then follow in our footsteps. That's more important than going to a Brazilian or international team to win. It's more important for me, and for our region, that this team wins something for the first time. Brazilians have already won a lot, it wouldn't be something historical if they win more, so it's more important for me that we win."

9z cooled off in 2023 when the team's Brazilian duo, coach zakk and AWPer nqz, went back home as try returned from his sojourn to play under the orders of the new skipper, Gustavo "⁠tge⁠" Motta. They failed to qualify for the BLAST.tv Paris Major, but made it to several Big Events: IEM Rio, IEM Dallas, and ESL Pro League Season 18. They didn't do much at the IEMs, but reached the Pro League playoffs and even defeated Virtus.pro in the first round before falling in the second round to Movistar Riders, who were fielding AWPer Antonio "⁠MartinezSa⁠" Martinez in his first full year on a professional contract.

The end-of-year turbulence reappeared in 2024. dav1deuS stepped down in October as the team was planning a future move to Europe, something the Chilean rifler didn't want to get on board with, and a week later try followed suit.

"All of the players who have come through 9z brought their own things and had their own ways of doing things," max says, "but me and dgt, my Uruguayan countryman and longest-standing teammate, always try to keep the essence of 9z as more than a team.

"We try to make sure that we're not just teammates but also friends and people who get along outside of the server because we want to bring that positive dynamic into the server so that everything flows in the best way possible. Our team culture is very important and I think that, as Latin Americans, it's in our blood to be more than just teammates. We try to make it a part of our daily lives."

9z dug into their academy system to find a rifler who could fill the talented dav1deuS' shoes, as they had done in 2022 when they needed an anchor and Nicolás "⁠buda⁠" Kramer was brought on board. This time around, one Chilean rifler made way for another, and Matias "⁠HUASOPEEK⁠" Ibañez Hernandez stepped into dav1deuS' shoes.

"HUASO's adaptation was quicker than expected," max says. "We knew he had a lot of potential, but I didn't expect he would understand many of the things he does or that he would learn them so quickly. Even to this day he listens and learns a lot and improves daily."

The organization then broke the bank to sign MartinezSa, who had been Álvaro "⁠SunPayus⁠" García's substitute in Movistar Riders, to man the big green, traditionally a position that shines in max's setup.

The Spanish AWPer, who was starting to find his footing in the big leagues, had become skeptical of Riders' chances following the departure of longtime in-game leader Alejandro "⁠alex⁠" Masanet to Ninjas in Pyjamas and decided to place a bet on the Latin American squad since they were planning a move to Europe. The fact that their path to the Major is through the Americas instead of the hyper-competitive European RMR was the cherry on top.

"We went to Brazil because we had the RMR's closed qualifier," MartinezSa says. "The plan was to come to Spain sooner, but in the end, we had to postpone it and play some tournaments and qualifiers from Argentina." The team's first months together were mixed. They had successful runs in the IEM Chengdu and IEM Dallas qualifiers, but failures to make it to the Major and ESL Pro League cast doubt on how good this team could become.

9z were paired with G2 in their opening series in China, which they lost in a close best-of-one, and were subsequently eliminated by HEROIC. A month later an exciting best-of-one opening victory against FURIA at GET Rio quickly lost its sheen when it was followed by losses to Imperial and OG.

MartinezSa laughs when asked about those early days, living in Buenos Aires, and if there were any moments of regret when the team wasn't fully working. "If it's done, it's done," he says. "I don't regret the decisions I make, so even when things weren't working out that great, I'd say that I wasn't really regretting the decision to move.

"Looking back on it now, I'd say it was a positive experience," he adds. "If you ask me to relive what I did in the past six or seven months, I'd tell you that I'd do it all over again, so the balance is positive."

What made it a net positive in the end was, no doubt, the way 9z turned up in May. After finishing second in CBCS Season 4 with Luken playing as a stand-in in the last two matches, MartinezSa and his teammates went on a tear at IEM Dallas. They beat MOUZ, the number one team in the world at the time, in the best-of-one opener, then took out a struggling Liquid to secure a playoff spot, and defeated Vitality in the group stage final for a berth straight into the semi-finals.

A vintage performance by Nikola "⁠NiKo⁠" Kovač on Inferno gave the edge to G2 on stage at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center, which they won by a slim 13-11 margin before taking the series 2-0 on Dust2. G2 went on to become champions the following day, much to the delight of the American crowd, who were cheering on stand-in Jake "⁠Stewie2K⁠" Yip and even dubbed the team GStew.

"The beginning of any season is hard for most teams," dgt says. "You have to try things and adapt to see what works. I think one of the things that really worked for us at the end of the season compared to the beginning was that we had no pressure, and we just had a good time. It's very important to feel unleashed."

That feeling continued at the FiReLEAGUE Global Finals, where the quality of teams in attendance wasn't as good as IEM Dallas, but still a competitive field for a team like 9z. It was no small feat for them to prevail over three top 30 teams, paiN, KOI, and fnatic, to raise the trophy in front of their home fans. MartinezSa, showing his best in a system designed for him to flourish, was named the first ever Dust2.com.br MVP of the tournament after topping the charts with a 1.43 rating in 9 maps.

Finally, the Spring season came to a close and the big moment arrived. 9z moved to Europe after the summer vacation to continue chasing their dream. "Madrid is lovely," max says when asked about the team's first few weeks in the Spanish capital.

"It took us longer than planned to move here because we wanted to make sure we came to Spain for everyone to have a life outside of Counter-Strike in a country where we all speak the language," he adds. "We're very happy. Spain is a beautiful country, and we feel very welcome everywhere we go. It's great to have the opportunity to be here."

MartinezSa is naturally also happy to be back in his home country, where he now lives with the team, while dgt has more reservations. While it's all a bit too new and fresh for the Uruguayan to really know how he feels about it, it's more of a pragmatic means to an end than anything else. "I'd take staying at home over moving here any day, if I'm honest," he says, "but we need to make some sacrifices if we want to realize our dreams, and this is one of them."

9z's move to Europe is a long-term affair, they're not here just to test the waters, and many of the battles they will now face are psychological. The distance from home and loved ones is perhaps the most obvious, but another spooky prospect is fighting in the online jungle of lower-tier European Counter-Strike, which could send even the most battle-hardened veteran to the asylum. Of course, it's something max and the rest of his teammates have thought about and prepared for.

"I wouldn't say we're nervous about it," max says, "but teams here really do demand more of you, and we need to understand that. We've talked about this, and we're conscious of it. We're also not coming here with the expectation of landing and, in a month or two, becoming a top team.

"This is all part of a process that begins with adapting to life here in Madrid as well as adapting to playing against these teams daily. I have plenty of confidence in the team, but I'm aware that it's a process and won't just happen overnight.

"At the same time, we have to make sure that it doesn't undermine our confidence but rather that every practice day becomes a learning opportunity and that, when we get to a tournament, we've channeled everything we've learned and can show it at the events we play in."

dgt also spoke soberly about the team's need to pace itself. "Everything takes time," he says. "Just because we played two good tournaments doesn't mean we'll always play well, especially right after we had a break. But now we know that we have the ability to reach that level, and it's just about putting in the time and effort."

Despite any uncertainty or nervousness that may creep up at such a volatile time, the team knows where its strengths lie and how joy and brotherhood are the keys to success. "It's more mental than about the game itself," MartinezSa says. "We've spoken about this several times and the conclusion we came to is that we have to enjoy ourselves and enjoy what we're doing. If you're enjoying yourself, you'll automatically play your best, you'll get along well with your teammates, and everything will just flow."

Amid all the excitement that comes with moving halfway across the world in pursuit of a dream, 9z's players now have their eyes fixed on one of the biggest challenges in their careers at the IEM Cologne Play-in. On the banks of the Rhine they will try to put their feel-good philosophy into play and give their fans, those back home and those who love a good underdog story, something to cheer for.

"We know that it's probably the most emblematic tournament on the calendar, and we want to have a good showing, but we don't want to give it so much importance that it could hurt us," MartinezSa says.

"We're focusing on it the same way we did for the last tournaments before the summer break, which is to make sure we go out there and enjoy ourselves," he adds, reminiscent of Riders' mindset when they became the first Spanish team to reach a Major in 2021. "I'm sure we'll play well if we're enjoying ourselves there, that's the key."

While the official line may be to play it cool and keep a level head before such a momentous occasion, it's a bit harder for max to hide his enthusiasm. "I'm very excited to play in Cologne, it's a legendary event," he says. "I've been watching it since I was a little boy and I always wanted to play there. That alone is already a dream come true."