Luchov’s 2.00 series lifts 9z past PARIVISION at IEM Cologne

Luciano ‘luchov’ Herrera produced a 2.00 series rating to lead 9z to a 2-1 win over PARIVISION in the Stage 3 opening round of the IEM Cologne Major. The series was decided on Overpass, Dust2 and Inferno, with 9z taking the opener and the decider.

On Overpass, 9z opened on their pick and built an 11-1 T-side lead. Luchov opened the match with a triple in the pistol round and had 21 kills by halftime. He finished the map with a 2.83 rating on Overpass, recorded as the second-best Overpass performance at a Major and the fifth-highest single-map rating at a Major overall. The map ended shortly after halftime with 9z claiming the opener.

PARIVISION recovered on Dust2. After a 1-3 start they moved ahead to an 8-4 halftime lead, aided by Emil ‘nota’ Moskvitin’s mixed-weapon ace using an AK and an AWP. 9z won the second pistol on Dust2 — their fourth pistol round in the match up to that point — but PARIVISION closed the map. Luchov posted a 1.68 rating on Dust2 despite the loss.

The decider on Inferno opened with PARIVISION taking the CT pistol. Early rounds featured multiple clutch plays: Ignacio ‘meyern’ Meyer won a 1v3 on a forcebuy and Vladislav ‘xiELO’ Lysov collected four kills in an eco. Matias ‘HUASOPEEK’ Ibañez Hernandez made a 1v2 clutch to tie the score at 3-3. 9z pushed to a 7-3 lead before PARIVISION took the last two rounds of the half.

PARIVISION won the second pistol and the anti-force to level at 14 rounds played, then started the second half 3-0 to briefly take the lead. 9z regained control late in the half, with luchov producing a strong B-side showing and meyern posting a triple on A that set up the final 2v2 retake. 9z closed Inferno 13-9 to seal the series.

Series statistics underline individual contributions. Luchov finished the match 70-35 with a +7.41% impact swing, 129.1 ADR and 91.2% KAST for a 2.00 series rating. Matias ‘HUASOPEEK’ Ibañez Hernandez went 45-34 with a 1.39 rating and Ignacio ‘meyern’ Meyer posted a 1.01 rating. For PARIVISION, Vladislav ‘xiELO’ Lysov led with 43-41 and a 1.10 rating while nota finished 38-46 with a 0.92 rating.

9z arrived in Stage 3 after a 3-1 showing in Stage 2, their only loss there coming to Spirit. The team now opens Stage 3 with an opening-round win over PARIVISION at the IEM Cologne Major.