9z have been one of the biggest surprises of the Major. Not many teams can claim wins over opponents like Vitality while also pushing Spirit to their limit, and that alone deserves respect. The concern is that their Round 4 loss to Aurora looked nothing like the version of 9z we had seen earlier in Cologne. Winning just six rounds across two maps raises questions about how they’ll respond with everything on the line.

That’s why I’m leaning toward The MongolZ. They haven’t always looked perfect throughout the Major, but they’ve generally been the more stable team. Even in defeat, they remained competitive, and when faced with elimination against Monte, they recovered well after dropping the opening map and found a way through. That kind of composure matters in a decider series.

Another factor is experience. Three of 9z’s standout performers (luchov, HUASOPEEK, and meyern) are on their first Major run, and although they’ve all been putting up numbers, handling the pressure of a playoff qualification match is a completely different challenge. If they perform the way they have throughout most of Cologne, this could go either way. Still, The MongolZ feel like the safer choice.