max: "It's not easy to be away from loved ones, but everyone has to follow their dreams"

The Uruguayan captain spoke with HLTV after 9z made it through to IEM Cologne's group stage.

9z locked up a spot in the group stage of IEM Cologne with a 2-0 victory over MIBR. So far, it has been smooth sailing for the South American team, who came through the Play-In without dropping a map.

Currently ranked 13th in the world, 9z are looking to build on last season's success. They surpassed everyone's expectations when they reached the semi-finals at IEM Dallas and then won the FiReLEAGUE 2024 Global Finals title after beating KOI and fnatic in the playoffs.

After the match against MIBR, Maximiliano "⁠max⁠" Gonzalez sat down with HLTV to discuss the team's Play-In results, the preparation for Cologne, and what life in Madrid has been like.

max, this was your second 2-0 victory and you're through to the group stage. Are you pleased with the team's performances?

Yes, I'm very pleased with the team, with the resilience that we showed today on Ancient, which wasn't an easy game. We were able to close it out and keep up a good attitude. We knew Ancient would be tough because it's a good map of theirs. We knew what we had to do, and I think we executed it well. That's why we turned it around and then it was a snowball that took it to Nuke.

I was reading the article that we did on the team, and dgt said that one of the reasons you did so well at the end of last season was that you didn't feel pressure. Do you think that semi-final run in Dallas and the FiReLEAGUE trophy have brought more pressure to the team?

I think it's the opposite, actually. I think the FiReLEAGUE trophy has really helped us because we were missing a title, so it was like, 'Ufff, we've done it.' Now it's about continuing to do what we've been doing because we're on the right path.

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

Do you think other teams respect 9z more after those two events?

That might be the case, but, again, we've been winning and doing a good job for years. I think we're getting to where we want to be.

What about internally? Do you believe more in yourselves since Dallas?

Yes, that tournament in Dallas has really helped with our confidence. We showed in a tier-one tournament that we can beat any team in the world. It was a huge confidence boost for us.

You only played two online matches in Europe before coming here. Were you focused on preparing for Cologne?

Exactly. We were coming back from holiday, so we wanted to focus on practicing really hard for the big tournament we had ahead.

What has it been like for the team to adapt to life in Madrid? What are the key differences between practice in Europe and South America?

Madrid has been really nice, the place where we are staying is very good, we are very comfortable. It's not easy to be away from your family, your girlfriend, and your loved ones, but everyone has to follow their dreams, and our dream was here. To be a tier-one team, we needed to make this leap and we've done it. We are very happy.

There are a lot of good teams in Brazil, like Imperial, paiN and MIBR, but in Europe there's more variety. Many tier-two teams play differently, and that really helps because you come across different styles.

Now that you're in the group stage, what are your goals? Do you think it's possible to get to the playoffs again?

Ah, we're always thinking step by step. At first, we were only thinking about winning the first match, then we started thinking about MIBR. Now, we're going to think about the next match, which will be tomorrow. It's going to be a tough game because it will be against a good team, but we're going for the win.