9z are experiencing a challenging start to the season, suffering four straight defeats including early eliminations from Esports World Cup and BLAST Open Porto. This marks a stark contrast to their recent achievements, including a top-eight placement at IEM Cologne Major and victory at XSE Pro League.
Maximiliano "max" Gonzalez spoke candidly following the loss to Vitality about his team's difficulties. "Everything went wrong for us in that series," he explained. "We're not playing our usual style, and honestly, I can't pinpoint exactly what's causing it, but we're determined to work through this and return to our normal level."
The 9z player identified multiple contributing factors to their struggles. "It's a combination of issues," max stated. "Our confidence is low, which affects our decision-making. We're also having tactical breakdowns where we're making poor choices in many rounds. Sometimes we forget our assignments and fail to adapt to what each situation demands."
Despite their strong performance at the Major and XSE Pro League triumph, max admitted being somewhat caught off guard by their current form. "I didn't anticipate we'd perform this poorly at this event. We need some rest to analyze what's happening and plan our path forward."
Looking ahead, 9z will compete at FISSURE in China. Max views this as a crucial opportunity for the team. "Playing against the world's elite teams constantly is demanding, especially when we're not at our peak," he noted. "We need to rebuild our confidence by competing against lower-tier opposition before we can consistently challenge tier-one teams again."
The Brazilian emphasized that while tournament experience is valuable for 9z, facing top-tier competition daily in their current state presents significant challenges.
