BIT: “If we can live up to our own standards, our chances of making the playoffs today are good.”

Bruno “BIT” Lima spoke in an interview at the IEM Cologne Major 2026 about his emotions following the loss to Team Spirit, shared how the team managed to cope with it and prepare for their next opponent, and also commented on the upcoming match against Aurora Gaming.
On the loss to Team Spirit
Yeah, yesterday was definitely just a crazy series. I think the deciding factor was team experience—those moments you can only learn in CS by actually being on the server. Perhaps at certain stages, when we were already very close to victory against Spirit, we made a few poor decisions due to rushing and the desire to win as quickly as possible, and that, of course, had a major impact on the result.
On preparing for the next match and coming to terms with the loss
I won’t lie, the night after that series was very tough, especially for me. I think I only managed to sleep for a few hours, but I don’t have to compete, so it’s no big deal. The players, of course, were able to rest longer—it’s critically important for them. I, on the other hand, got up early enough to prepare for the next match. It was really hard to “reset”: I woke up with thoughts similar to yesterday’s, right after that loss. However, I managed to convince myself that I wanted to approach the next opponent with a clear mind. Right now, I think everything is great for us: we’ve talked, discussed all the details with the guys, and we’re ready to win.
On the matchup against Aurora Gaming
If we can play at the same level against Aurora Gaming today, I think that should be enough for a win. We performed very well in the previous series, never stopped fighting, and didn’t give up, even when we were down. So, yes, if we can live up to our own standards, our chances of making the playoffs today are good.
9z Team is currently playing against Aurora Gaming at the IEM Cologne Major 2026 Stage 3 in a match to advance to the event’s playoffs. At the time of publication, Bruno “BIT” Lima’s team is trailing 0-1 in the series.
Photo — Bruno “BIT” Lima.


