NEKIZ benched from paiN

The 27-year-old moves to an inactive role as more changes seem to be on the horizon for paiN.

Gabriel "⁠NEKIZ⁠" Schenato has announced that he is no longer on paiN's active roster, bringing an end to his second stint in the team. The move comes on the heels of a report by Dust2.br, which stated that the organization wishes to sign Fluxo's Lucas "⁠lux⁠" Meneghini and promote academy prospect Cássio "⁠cass1n⁠" Santos to the main roster.

NEKIZ's removal looks to signal the start of several roster changes, as the duo would reportedly replace him and Fluxo-bound Romeu "⁠zevy⁠" Rocco.

NEKIZ's first tenure in the organization began in December 2019 and lasted for over two and a half years before he was demoted to the bench in favor of Felipe "⁠skullz⁠" Medeiros. He remained contracted to paiN during a short time in O PLANO, and was called back into the active roster in February as Vinicios "⁠PKL⁠" Coelho's removal left a vacant place.

Shortly after his return, paiN reached a new level that culminated with them peaking in 13th place on the world ranking. Their road started at ESL Pro League S17, where they qualified for the first round of playoffs before breezing past the competition at the Paris Major Americas RMR and returning to the Major circuit.

After the impressive string of form expectations were high for the roster, but paiN failed to progress through the Challengers Stage exit before a last-place exit at ESL Challenger Katowice 2023 meant their impressive season petered out near the end, prompting the organization to consider changes.

"Today, I'm going back to the bench," began NEKIZ in his statement. "I believe the team has other ideas for the next season, with a big change to the core. I am open to BR and EU proposals," he finished by saying that he is looking at prospective new teams.

After NEKIZ's removal, paiN are currently:

Wesley "⁠hardzao⁠" Lopes
Rodrigo "⁠biguzera⁠" Bittencourt
Felipe "⁠skullz⁠" Medeiros
Romeu "⁠zevy⁠" Rocco

Henrique "⁠rikz⁠" Waku (coach)

Gabriel "⁠NEKIZ⁠" Schenato (benched)
Vinicios "⁠PKL⁠" Coelho (benched)