TYLOO will play the rest of PGL Masters Bucharest 2026 without their AWPer Jee, who has been diagnosed with chickenpox. Head coach zhokiNg takes his place, starting with Monday’s elimination match against 9z at , a series that could decide whether TYLOO keep a place at PGL Major Singapore 2026.
TYLOO announced on Monday morning that Jee is receiving treatment and resting in isolation on medical advice. The tournament organisers have approved zhokiNg as his replacement for the remaining matches. “We will continue to monitor Jee’s condition and make further arrangements based on his recovery and tournament regulations,” the organisation said.
That leaves the 21-year-old’s status open for TYLOO’s next event, HyperX Retake Season 13 in Lisbon, which starts on Thursday.
TYLOO’s lineup against 9z:
JamYoung- Mercury
- Moseyuh
- Zero
- zhokiNg (coach, stand-in)
Not the first time zhokiNg has filled in for Jee
zhokiNg, 32, played professionally from 2014 to 2023 before moving into TYLOO’s staff, first as an analyst and since August 2024 as head coach. He has been here once before. At FISSURE Playground #1 in July 2025, visa problems kept Jee from the start of the event, and zhokiNg played the group stage and the quarter-final in his place. Jee joined in time for the semi-finals, and TYLOO went on to win the $1 million tournament.
This time there is no Jee to wait for, and the stakes are higher. TYLOO lose their primary AWPer and the player who led their scoreboard on Sunday, when Jee’s 21 kills were the most on his team in the 0-2 defeat to Spirit. Mercury remains the in-game leader.
A familiar opponent with a clean record
9z have had the better of this matchup every time. They beat TYLOO 2-0 in Stage 2 of the IEM Cologne Major in June, 2-1 at XSE Pro League Guangzhou in July, and 2-0 at ESL Pro League Season 24 earlier this month, when TYLOO took only two rounds on Mirage. In seven maps between the teams over that run, TYLOO have won one.
Both teams arrive without a win in Bucharest. TYLOO lost 0-2 to FUT Esports on Saturday after leading 6-1 on Nuke, and 0-2 to Team Spirit on Sunday. 9z were swept by Vitality and MOUZ. The difference is that 9z’s place in Singapore is already secure, while TYLOO’s is not. The bookmakers make 9z heavy favourites.
FUT Esports2-0
TYLOONuke 13-9, Ancient 13-6
Team Spirit2-0TYLOOMirage 13-5, Anubis 13-3What the 9z match is worth
Asia has five places at the Major, and two of them belong to The MongolZ and BC.Game. TYLOO hold the last of the remaining three for now, fifth in the region, and HLTV’s invite simulator gave them a 58.2% chance of keeping it on Monday morning. A win over 9z would lift that to 91.2%, according to HLTV, and a loss would drop it to 40.6%.
The teams around TYLOO in the race have matches of their own this week. Lynn Vision (93.4%), Chinggis Warriors (80.7%) and 5star (24.0%) are all at the MESA Pro Series Halloween Cup from Tuesday, while FlyQuest (31.3%) need others to slip. VRS analyst Jesper “Udknud” Larsen made the same point on Sunday: if TYLOO finish 0-3 in Bucharest, they will need a top-three finish in Lisbon.
HLTV’s simulator puts TYLOO’s chances at 94% if they finish in the top three at HyperX Retake and 43% if they do not. Valve sets the invitations from the rankings on 2 November, and Lisbon is the last event on TYLOO’s schedule before that date. Whether Jee is there for it is the question TYLOO could not yet answer.
