Paquetá and 9z will meet in the CCT South America Series 7 quarter-finals. Interestingly, the teams have played each other twice this week, but both times the Latin Americans have won.
I don't think anything will change here, as Paquetá noticeably lack the experience and potential to play against such an opponent. For their part, 9z seem to be moving along without too many problems, not counting the TIER-1 tournaments.
Thus, the Brazilian squad might struggle, but they are unlikely to take more than one title. So here I would bank on a logical win for the 9z team.
Paquetá's form
The 49th ranked team in the world recently visited the BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023 Americas RMR, where they managed to make a mark with victories over Solid and Evil Geniuses, but were still left out of the majors.
The Brazilian side reached the final of CCT South America Series 6 and also finished third in the ESL Challenger Katowice 2023 indoor qualifier.
As for Long Songpeg in CCT South America Series 7, Paquetá managed to outplay The Union, although the team looked too tired and lacklustre in places.
Paquetá's latest results:
- A 0-2 loss to Solid.
- A 0-2 defeat at the hands of 9z.
- 2-1 win over W7M Academy.
- 1-2 defeat at the hands of 9z.
- 2-1 win over The Union.
Paquetá's best scores:
- Anubis - 80% wins.
- Overpass - 69% wins.
- Mirage - 67% wins.
- Nuke - 50% wins.
It is worth remembering that the Brazilian squad does not appear on the Ancient map.
Form 9z
The 40th ranked team in the world recently became CCT South America Series 5 champions, before successfully qualifying for the upcoming IEM Dallas 2023.
Despite a string of successes, 9z failed at IEM Rio 2023 where they suffered two defeats to FaZe Clan and fnatic, finishing in last place.
The Latin American squad also recently won qualifiers for ESL Challenger Katowice 2023, as well as with a win over W7M Academy Long Converged in the current CCT South America Series 7.
Latest 9z results:
- A 2-0 win over Paquetá.
- A 0-2 loss to MIBR.
- 2-1 win over Paquetá.
- Beat MIBR 2-1.
- 2-0 win over W7M Academy.
Top 9z:
- Nuke - 87% wins.
- Mirage - 70% wins.
- Ancient - 70% wins.
- Inferno - 60% wins.
In turn, the Latin American team has long given up on maps Vertigo.
Meeting statistics Paquetá - 9z
Within the framework of the current season, the teams have played two meetings:
- A 2-0 win for 9z as part of the closed qualification for ESL Challenger Katowice 2023.
- 9z won 2-1 in ESL Challenger Katowice 2023 closed qualification.
Interestingly, both times the teams played on the map Overpass and Nuke.
Paquetá vs 9z
There is unlikely to be a strong turnaround, as 9z have twice proved their worth in practice. The Brazilians are doing well to try to look for mistakes and study their opponent, but so far Paquetá is far away.
In general, the Latin American team is quite legitimately the favourite. And there's not much reason to believe that Paquetá will shoot out now and close the meeting in their favour.
Therefore, in this case, I would recommend betting on the victory of the team 9z.
