biguzera: "If we talk about it right now, of course we would choose to get dgt sooner"

"It was kind of my decision with the coach, and I think we made a mistake," the Brazilian IGL admits.

paiN had a rough period of results during the middle part of the season following Kaue "⁠kauez⁠" Kaschuk's removal, and Franco "⁠dgt⁠" Garcia's signing failed to steady the ship immediately due to a lack of practice.

After a two-week period in Brazil, however, Rodrigo "⁠biguzera⁠" Bittencourt thinks the team is on the right track.

"We practiced a lot, cleared our mindset a little bit, and stayed a bit with family and friends. I think this kind of thing helped us more than a bootcamp in Europe," he told HLTV after his team qualified for the 2-0 pool over FURIA.

---

After the first day you're 2-0, which is perfect for you guys. How happy are you with what you showed today?

Of course I'm really happy. We can't be happier than that, we showed good CS after having good practice. If we can show this to the world, I think we did our job, so I'm happy.

This game against FURIA. You played them in Shanghai, where they eliminated you, and while today's game didn't have the same stakes, it must feel very special to beat them? Considering your reaction after the win.

Of course, it's a Brazilian derby, and it means a lot to win against a Brazilian team. It means a little bit more because of course, we are friends with them, but at the same time, we know about the rivalry in Brazil. We always want to be the best team in Brazil, but at the same time, I feel a little bit sad for them. But, we have to beat anyone that we face, so [laughs]... The taste of revenge for Shanghai is good as well, I have to say.

You said you got some good practice in. That was a big problem at the start, when you signed dgt but had events and couldn't practice. How much did the break after Dallas help you guys?

It helps a lot. Before Astana, we just had two or three days of practice. After that, we had like 14 days in Brazil, practicing a lot, clearing a little bit our mindset, and staying a little bit with family and friends. I think this kind of thing helped us more than a bootcamp in Europe. We just needed to stay in Brazil, and I think it worked for us.

You said you needed to just reset a bit. How hard were these few months? You played with an academy player, then you played with a coach, and I think you won one game out of 13 or something like that. How hard was that period for you?

Bro, it was impossible to live. It was so crazy, because everything that we tried, everything that we did, just [meant we went] even further down, that was so difficult. It was so crazy because we just felt everything that we did was going wrong, so right now I'm just feeling so much better and happier about everything.

Now that you look back at the last few months, are you still happy with the decision? I mean obviously you seem to be happy about signing dgt, but are you happy with doing it at the middle of the season?

I think we could have done it sooner. If we talk about it right now, of course we would choose to get him sooner. But it was kind of my decision with the coach, and I think we made a mistake. He's an amazing player, an amazing person, I love to be here with him. I think he deserves the best, and us too.