max on the victory over Aurora Gaming at TWC 2026: “We had a good rematch against them.”
9z Team captain Maximiliano “max” Gonzalez spoke in an interview at the Thunderpick World Championship 2026 about the significance of the victory over Aurora Gaming, the choice of Inferno, and the challenges of playing on the defense side.
On the significance of the victory over Aurora Gaming
This victory is very important because we had lost to Aurora Gaming twice before. They’re a really strong team, and we had a good rematch against them. Yes, this victory is very important for us, especially for our self-confidence. So I’m very happy with today’s result.
On the choice of Inferno
The veto wasn’t easy because Aurora Gaming plays the same maps as we do, such as Dust2 and Nuke. They play very well on those maps. Yes, we played well on Inferno in practice, especially on the attack side, and we’re confident in our T-side play. We were hoping we could close out the map on the defense side. But playing as CT isn’t easy—it’s really not easy.
On playing on the defense side
It’s not easy to play on Inferno without intel. Sometimes we tried to get it, and that led to mistakes. We lost round 5-2 with the score at 11-4 or 10-4, so from a mental standpoint, it was tough. But with the score at 11-11, we played two really great rounds.
Earlier, 9z Team defeated Aurora Gaming 2-0 in their debut match at the 2026 Thunderpick World Championship. As a result, Maximiliano “max” Gonzalez’s team advanced to the Group A upper bracket final.
Photo: PGL.
