9z reach XSE Pro League Guangzhou 2026 grand final

9z defeated Alliance 2-1 in the XSE Pro League Guangzhou 2026 semi-final to secure a place in the tournament grand final in Guangzhou. The match was a rematch after Alliance beat 9z earlier in the event’s group stage.

The series went three maps. 9z opened on Nuke after switching from an expected Dust2 pick; Ignacio “meyern” Meyer and Luciano “luchov” Herrera each produced late multi-kills to close the map. Alliance won the second map, Inferno, in double overtime. On Inferno, meyern helped 9z recover from a 6-12 deficit to force overtime, but Alliance prevailed. 9z then won the decider on Ancient to clinch the series.

Player statistics for 9z were led by luchov with a 65-49 kill-death line, 93.7 ADR and a 1.30 Rating3.0. Meyern finished 59-40 with a 1.26 rating. Franco “dgt” Garcia posted 62-43 and a 1.20 rating, while Matias “HUASOPEEK” Ibañez Hernández recorded 51-45 and a 1.09 rating. Maximiliano “max” Gonzalez ended the series 42-54 with a 0.85 rating. For Alliance, Sean “eraa” Knutsson had 58-54 with a 1.11 rating and Markus “upE” Johansson posted a 1.01 rating; the rest of the Alliance roster recorded ratings below 1.00.

The result follows 9z’s run at the IEM Cologne Major, where the team reached the Major quarter-finals in its first Major playoffs appearance. The Guangzhou grand final is the organisation’s first at an event classified at the MVP level.

9z will face the winner of the second semi-final between FaZe and PARIVISION in the grand final on Sunday at 08:00 local time in Guangzhou. The match will decide the XSE Pro League Guangzhou 2026 champion and the final prize distribution.