9INE have benched Bartosz “bnox” Niebisz with immediate effect, making him the second player removed from the active roster in five days. The organization pulled Jan “cej0t” Dyl on May 1; bnox followed on May 5. Two roster cuts in a single week from a team that started 2026 with playoff ambitions.
The 26-year-old Polish rifler joined 9INE in December 2025 after Eternal Fire moved him to the bench as part of their shift to an all-Turkish core built around rim3 and EMSTAR. He posted a 1.08 HLTV rating across 74 maps in the jersey, respectable numbers on paper, but the wins never came.
From Birch Cup Champions to VRS No. 62
9INE entered January at No. 34 in the VRS. By the May update, they had cratered to No. 62. A 28-spot drop in four months, and it accelerated after the December roster overhaul that brought bnox and phzy in for faveN and MoDo.
phzy lasted less than a month before Astralis triggered his buyout on January 1. shield came in as the replacement AWPer on January 30, then got swapped for flayy in March. Four different players cycled through two roster spots in under 90 days. The constant churn killed any chemistry the team had built during their Birch Cup title run in September 2025, when 9INE looked like a legitimate top-25 side with cej0t and faveN pushing deep together.
The 2026 results reflect that instability. Semi-finals at LORGAR Rankings S1 in Barcelona and IstanbuLAN 2026 in Istanbul. Nothing else worth mentioning. Fifth place at Stake Ranked Episode 1 LAN, exits in early rounds of CCT and NODWIN events, a loss to FURIA in the BLAST Bounty Winter closing qualifier. For a team once knocking on the door of a Major spot after pushing fnatic to a Fragadelphia Blocktober grand final, this is a collapse.
The adamS Tryout and What Comes Next
9INE have not announced replacements for either bnox or cej0t, but the org tipped its hand during the Stake Ranked Episode 2 Closed Qualifier. Adam “adamS” Marian subbed in for cej0t, giving the squad a trial run with the Romanian rifler who previously spent time on 9z and KOI. That match ended in a 1-2 loss to BET-M, which does nothing to inspire confidence.
The remaining active core is thin: raalz, kraghen, and flayy. IGL Rasmus “raalz” Steensborg has held the team together through six roster changes since mid-2025, but even the most patient leader runs out of answers when the pieces keep shifting around him. Coach BERRY faces the same problem from the outside.
Flayy: The One Bright Spot
Community sentiment has been loud and consistent on one point: Alan “flayy” Krupa does not belong on this roster. Not because he is bad, but because he might be too good. The 20-year-old Polish AWPer averaged a 1.14 HLTV rating over the past 12 months and appeared in the top 20 of all four HLTV Prospects reports. He replaced shield in March and walked straight into a team that was already falling apart.
HLTV forum users are tagging him as a Tier-1 prospect. One commenter put it bluntly: when FaZe lock in their next core, flayy should be on the call list. For 9INE, that is both a compliment and a warning. If the rebuild drags on, flayy becomes the next player a bigger org poaches, the same way Astralis grabbed phzy.
9INE’s Roster Changes in 2026
| Date | Move |
| Jan 1 | phzy bought out by Astralis |
| Jan 30 | shield signed as AWPer |
| Mar 3 | flayy replaces shield |
| May 1 | cej0t benched |
| May 5 | bnox benched |
Five transactions in five months. Two players remain from the December 2025 lineup that was supposed to stabilize the project. 9INE’s roster changes in 2026 have turned the org into a revolving door, and the VRS keeps punishing them for it.
The organization needs a full rebuild. Two benched players, a borrowed stand-in, and a ranking in freefall leave no room for half-measures. Whatever 9INE announce next will determine whether this is a reset or a slow dissolution.
