The South American team has enacted its first changes after missing the Major.
9z have announced the benching of Nicolás “buda” Kramer and coach Gustavo “tge” Motta following their failure to qualify for the Perfect World Shanghai Major.
The South American team has been in a rough patch of form since their breakout event at IEM Dallas, where they reached the semi-final after defeating MOUZ and Vitality. They peaked at No. 11 in the world rankings soon after but have since plummeted to the fringes of the top 30 after a period of lackluster form.
The biggest disappointment for the team came at the Shanghai Major Americas RMR, where 0-2 losses to FURIA, paiN, and Wildcard meant they were left without a Major spot and forced the team into changes.
buda is the only player casualty as the team’s lowest-rated member. The academy graduate was promoted to the main team in September of 2022 and averaged a 0.94 rating across 2024, which drops to 0.89 when we consider just the last three months.
“Thank you all very much for these last few years,” buda wrote in his statement. “Even though we were unable to finish with a Major, we managed to achieve goals that no one thought were possible.”
The second change is the benching of tge, who has fulfilled the head coach role since January 2023, with the Brazilian stating he is open to future offers.
9z are now:
Uruguay Maximiliano “max” Gonzalez
Uruguay Franco “dgt” Garcia
Chile Matias “HUASOPEEK” Ibañez Hernandez
Spain Antonio “MartinezSa” Martinez
Argentina Nicolás “buda” Kramer (benched)
Brazil Gustavo “tge” Motta (coach) (benched)
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