South American squad 9z has secured a spot in the playoffs at a Counter-Strike Major for the first time. The team advanced through the group stage of the IEM Cologne Major 2026 by defeating tournament favorites Team Vitality and Team Falcons, while also playing a close series against Spirit. 9z will now face FURIA on Thursday in the Lanxess Arena.
For Ignacio “meyern” Meyer, the achievement carries personal weight. The Argentine player highlighted the significance of reaching this stage alongside long-time friends.
It feels amazing. I think it’s a dream accomplished,” meyern said. “I’m playing with friends because I know them since I’m a child. So, we are living a dream together and we want more. So, trying to fix the mistakes we had in the group stage and do our best thing on playoff.”
Securing the playoff spot brought intense feelings for the player, who admitted that the accomplishment made it difficult to sleep at first due to “a lot of emotions coming in.”
Spanish stream records broken
During their matches, Spanish broadcasts saw over 100,000 concurrent viewers, which is something that the Argentinan and his teammates have noticed.
We know we have a lot of people starting the day really early and supporting us,” meyern explained. “It become like a together thing. We are together in this and we have a dream together.
Looking forward to the upcoming Major in Buenos Aires, Meyern compared the local passion for Counter-Strike to traditional sports, noting that fans experience the game “like a football match.”
Meeting FURIA in the Lanxess Arena
The upcoming quarter-final match against FURIA means one South American representative will exit the tournament. The Argentinian expressed anticipation for the match against a familiar opponent.
I really like it to play against FURIA. I think we know how they play and what is the things they like to play,” meyern stated. “It’s going to be sad that one team have to leave early on the playoff. But yeah, I think it’s going to be fun and we want to give more.
Playing inside the Lanxess Arena represents a career milestone for meyern, who grew up watching top-tier events from afar.
It’s a dreaming coming true really. When I was young, I was watching these tournaments and seeing all the teams chasing his dreams,” meyern reflected.
