9INE clinch first LAN trophy by defeating ex-Inner Circle at Birch Cup

9INE clinch first LAN trophy by defeating ex-Inner Circle at Birch Cup

In Gdańsk, Poland, 9INE have captured their inaugural LAN championship after edging out ex-Inner Circle 2–1 in the grand final of the Birch Cup 2025 (13–9 on Ancient, 14–16 on Nuke, and 13–3 on Train).

This marks a milestone both for the 9INE organization and for Jan “cej0t” Dyl, as they harvest their first major offline trophy.  The victory gives the squad a boost as they push toward qualification for the StarLadder Budapest Major. 

Tournament run & key results

9INE’s path through Birch Cup was impressive. They defeated Betclic, Johnny Speeds, ex-Inner Circle, and Liquid (twice: once in the group stage, again in the semi-finals) en route to the final.  In particular, their semi-final victory over Liquid sealed their arrival in the grand final. 

In the final’s first map, Ancient, 9INE rebounded from a 1–7 deficit to win 13–9, largely thanks to a dominant second half. Rasmus “raalz” Steensborg stood out with a CT-side rating of 2.26, 129.5 ADR, and a +14.05% round swing, while Mădălin-Andrei “MoDo” Mirea contributed with a 1.57 rating. 

The second map, Nuke, saw ex-Inner Circle push back. After trailing early, 9INE forced overtime following a comeback led by entries from Josef “faveN” Baumann and clutch impact from Tobias “kraghen” Kragh Jensen and raalz. However, in OT, kRaSnaL from ex-Inner Circle delivered the decisive performances to win 16–14 and tie the series. 

But on Train, 9INE overwhelmed their opponents decisively. MoDo won two clutch situations, ex-Inner Circle struggled to find multi-fragging consistency, and the team faltered in opening duels (going just 5–10), leading to a lopsided 13–3 map. 

VRS points, ranking and stakes

For their victory, 9INE were awarded 139 VRS points, pushing them up to 28th in the global VRS rankings. Despite that rise, they remain five spots short of an automatic Major invite (as of now, Virtus.pro holds the final invite slot with 1,407 points).  Their remaining chance to bridge the gap lies at Fragadelphia Blocktober across the Atlantic, although multiple teams around them are also heading there, or participating in other events like ESL Pro League. 

Voices from the event & reflections

Multiple players and team figures offered commentary during and after the final. Here are some notable quotes collected by HLTV’s live coverage:

“Probably one of the most exhausting days I've had on LAN” — Kamil “siuhy” Szkaradek, reflecting on Liquid’s grueling schedule and matches.

“BERRY gives me the most trust of any coach I’ve ever worked with” — Josef “faveN” Baumann, praising his coach’s support. 

“Thinking about the VRS and Majors too much is always bad for you” — CYPHER, advising against overemphasis on standings. 

As for 9INE’s internal reflections, their coach (or staff) summarized their feelings:

“Incredible. No, to be honest, I'm super happy with everybody, they did an amazing job. It might be the best 9INE we have seen so far … so yeah. We have to keep it up now.” 

Also, raalz expressed frustration that after over ten years in competitive CS, he has not yet been to a Major — a motivating factor given their current push.