paiN defeat Grayhound to qualify for EPL playoffs

The Brazilians completed the reverse sweep to advance to the knockout stage in Malta.

paiN are the third team from ESL Pro League Season 17 Group C to qualify for the playoffs after moving past Grayhound in a three-map series, first conceding a 7-16 defeat on Inferno before completing a reverse sweep with 16-12 victories on Nuke and Anubis.

The victory will be a particularly feel-good moment for Felipe "⁠skullz⁠" Medeiros. The 20-year-old made his Big Event debut at ESL Pro League Season 17, and has so far led the charge for his team with a team-high 1.21 rating across 11 maps played. The Brazilian roster will hope skullz can continue his strong form once play makes its way to the bracket stage, which will run from March 21-26.

All is not for lost for Grayhound, who fall down to the do-or-die last chance stage in Malta. The Australian roster will need two back-to-back victories to secure their own playoff berth, their first test being against 00NATION on Sunday at 12:30 .

The two teams duked it out on Inferno to kick things off, where the Australians put together a well-executed and thorough T-side to climb to an opening 5-0 lead. It was at this point that both sides became embroiled in a back-and-forth skirmish for control. paiN fought their way onto the scoresheet with a three-round streak of their own, only for Grayhound to respond in kind after capitalizing on the Brazilians' over-rotation in round 10. In the end, however, it was back-to-back heroics from Wesley "⁠hardzao⁠" Lopes which rescued the half for paiN, consecutive lockdowns of the A bombsite enabling his squad to trail by just one round at the side swap.

Grayhound went two for two in pistol rounds to begin the second half, using their new-found economic freedom to reach double digits with few issues, 10-7. The Australians' grip on the game grew into utter domination from this moment on. A round-saving 4k came through from Declan "⁠Vexite⁠" Portelli in round 21, with Jay "⁠Liazz⁠" Tregillgas adding three kills to his tally shortly after to round out a flawless CT-side effort from the Australians and lock in a commanding 16-7 victory to send the series to Nuke.

paiN got off to a flying start on their pick of Nuke, with Rodrigo "⁠biguzera⁠" Bittencourt and hardzao even pulling off a 2vs4 clutch in the fourth round to let the Brazilians jump out to a comfortable 6-0 advantage on the T-side. It took until round eight for Grayhound to get on the board, a win that immediately flipped the game on its head. The Joshua "⁠INS⁠" Potter-led roster successfully chained together all remaining rounds of the half, brushing the Brazilians aside with stellar holds across every area of the map to regain the lead, 8-7, at halftime.

paiN hopped back in the driver's seat at the outset of the second half, relying on consistent round-on-round impact from biguzera to inch closer to forcing an Anubis decider, 12-8. The Brazilians continued to lead as their CT-side campaign dragged on, with Romeu "⁠zevy⁠" Rocco, who was having an unusually quiet game up until this point, coming alive in the dying stages to get paiN onto map point. Back-to-back double kills from Alistair "⁠aliStair⁠" Johnston allowed his side to briefly stave off defeat, but the Australians were no match for hardzao, who went huge in the 28th round with a triple kill hold of the A bombsite to send the series to Anubis.

Grayhound entered the Anubis decider on the back foot, playing the newest map in the pool just twice with defeats on both outings. The Brazilians, meanwhile, sported a 75% win rate, picking up three victories on the trot in the lead-up to the teams' playoff-deciding bout.

INS and company's less-than-favorable record on the map immediately looked like it would only worsen once play resumed, with paiN bullying their way onto bombsites at will to cruise to a lopsided 5-2 lead on the more favored T-side. Grayhound added two rounds midway through the half to their rally to boost their moral, but were otherwise outclassed by a paiN whose game plan was playing out without a hitch. The Brazilians ended their time on the offense with a seven-round buffer to their name, courtesy of a superlative 18-6 performance from skullz.

paiN made incremental gains once the sides swapped, nabbing the pistol round and subsequent conversion to reach a 13-4 scoreline and be within three rounds of total victory. Grayhound rebounded with a burst of energy just as all looked lost, asserting dominance over their counterparts by going on an absolute tear with seven rounds on the trot to reduce the deficit down to two rounds, 11-13. paiN finally broke the onslaught thanks to a triple kill from zevy and his trusty AWP, with the Brazilians going on to close things out on the back a mishmash buy of Desert Eagles and Five-SeveNs, 16-12.