paiN send Rooster to EPL Group C last chance bracket

The Brazilian squad posted a 2-0 victory to remain in the Group C lower bracket

paiN outclassed Rooster in an ESL Pro League Group C lower bracket series that could have been much more one-sided had it not been for Akram "⁠ADK⁠" Smida’s brilliant clutching abilities on Anubis. The Brazilians took the map set in Egypt 16-11 before closing out the series in Cedar Creek 16-4.

paiN will now play the loser of OG vs. Vitality in the lower bracket semi-finals, while Rooster have been relegated to the last chance bracket where they could go up against their Grayhound countrymen were they to lose their lower bracket game against 00NATION.

This victory is a much needed boost for paiN, who lost their opening series against Ninjas in Pyjamas with two close 13-16 maps. "When I was playing for [paiN] back in the days we were always trying to make it to the next level and we could never make it," Gabriel "⁠NEKIZ⁠" Schenato says of his first stint in paiN between 2019 and August 2022, before the squad went on to win ESL Challenger Melbourne without him. "They did it in Melbourne and right now I think this tournament is this team’s next step, maybe we can make it to the playoffs. I think we’re very confident about it."

The series itself started out being a breeze for paiN, who stood strong on the CT side of Anubis taking a 7-1 early lead. Tyson "⁠asap⁠" Paterson, Rooster’s brightest player against FaZe, struggled to find rhythm with a 0-7 start. The opposite can be said of ADK, whose two stellar 1vs3 clutches put Rooster on the map. Two became three in the last round, when ADK once again clutched another 1vs3, this time to give his team the 8-7 lead at the half.

Rooster’s CT side issues continued from the first day of play, however, and after failing to secure the pistol round in a 2vs1 against Wesley "⁠hardzao⁠" Lopes sporting Berettas, it was the Brazilians who took the rains and were at no point threatened by the three scattered rounds they gave up on the way to a 16-11 victory.

Now on their map pick of Nuke, paiN got the best of Rooster in the early game once again. This time around they won nine out of the first ten rounds on the attack, setting up an easy path to a 2-0 victory over the Australia-New Zealand side with 12-3 on the board at the switch.

Two USP headshots by Romeu "⁠zevy⁠" Rocco in yard to kick off the second pistol round put paiN in the driver’s seat as they won the round cleanly before shutting down a pistol buy in the second round. One last tally was marked on the board by Rooster, but that would be it for the ANZ squad as paiN sealed the deal without a hitch, 16-4.