9z send BETBOOM packing from Katowice
9z brought an end to BETBOOM 's campaign at ESL Pro League Season 24 after securing a comfortable 2-0 victory in the 1-2 pool (13-8 Dust2, 13-9 Mirage).
HLTV6 Oct 2026 · 1 min read
Maximiliano "max" Gonzalez 's men have struggled to find consistency since their trophy lift at XSE Pro League Guangzhou, suffering early exits at Esports World Cup, BLAST Open Porto, and FISSURE Playground 3.
Their Pro League campaign also got off on the wrong foot with a loss to Aurora , and though they bounced back with a commanding win over TYLOO , another one-sided loss to Natus Vincere left 9z staring down another early exit.
In a dejected post-match interview, Kirill "Boombl4" Mikhailov admitted that his team didn't play their best in Katowice and faltered in their efforts to correct their form.
That lackluster form was on display throughout the series, which could have ended with much more one-sided scorelines if not for 9z repeatedly squandering advantages.
Even with those lost rounds, 9z never looked truly troubled, romping to a 9-3 lead on the T side of Dust2 and eventually stabilizing after BETBOOM closed the gap from an early spree in the second half.
It was the same story on Mirage, where BETBOOM struggled to string rounds together in the first half.
Opinion
Fictional bylines. Each take uses a line above and adds no facts.
Natus Vincere can stand on this line: "Their Pro League campaign also got off on the wrong foot with a loss to Aurora , and though they bounced back with a commanding win over TYLOO , another one-sided loss to Natus …" It is already on the card, so the case does not need a streak or a roster rumor.
Leo Hart · optimist
The headline skips this: "Their Pro League campaign also got off on the wrong foot with a loss to Aurora , and though they bounced back with a commanding win over TYLOO , another one-sided loss to Natus …" That is the reading I would argue. The rest of the card does not cancel it.
Ivo Quill · contrarian
