nqz "I would be lying if I said I don't [feel pressure]. It was so different for me to see all those people and be in a Major playoffs"

nqz's 29-kill decider saw him overcome the pressure and fire paiN to their first ever Big Event, let alone Major, semi-final.

Something is in the water in Austin. Like MOUZ, paiN went 0-2 to 3-2 in groups, lost their pick and map one of their quarter-finals, and went on to win the match regardless.

"Everyone felt pressure," Lucas "⁠nqz⁠" Soares admitted to HLTV post-game. "But as the game goes on, when you start focussing your attention to the match, the pressure goes away."

That was evident in the server, as paiN grew into the series off the back of four David "⁠dav1deuS⁠" Tapia Maldonado clutches on Anubis and a well-managed Inferno comeback from 1-7 down. A 6-13 stomping on Nuke was forgotten.

Date	Matches
BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025
20/06/2025	FaZe 23:15 The MongolZ	Match
21/06/2025	paiN 23:50 The MongolZ	Match

paiN have been in the hunt for this feeling for a while. They and nqz were one game away from the stadium when they were eliminated from PGL Major Copenhagen and IEM Cologne last year. The arena duck was broken in Cluj-Napoca but Austin is a different beast.

Entering the Major, despite the blockbuster signing of one of the region's strongest lurkers in Franco "⁠dgt⁠" Garcia, they were unfancied. Even with the frequent use of stand-ins, a streak of one win and twelve losses in their last 13 games going into Austin was reason for many to write them off.

Going 0-2 in Stage 3 was another reason. But paiN did what they do best, embraced the underdog status and clawed back win after win.

For the run to continue, nqz knows it's only going to get tougher, with FaZe or MongolZ scheduled to face them in semi-finals. But paiN do not want to let themselves settle for 3rd-4th.

"It's early to say 'we are done, we are proud of what we've done.' We are proud but we want more."

---

Congratulations, you win the Brazilian derby. Tell me how you're feeling, you went super-saiyan on the last map there.

I'm feeling speechless right now, really really happy. I'm really proud of everyone. As you said, I wasn't myself on the first two maps so it was really good to pop off on Inferno. A team effort, I'm really proud of everyone.

Did you feel any pressure on the stage? There's a lot of conversation about FURIA being the more experienced team, and this being your second stage event.

I would be lying if I said I don't. Of course, whenever we sit down on the stage, it was so different for me to see all those people, be on the stage, be in a Major playoffs. Everyone felt pressure but as the game goes on, when you start focussing your attention to the match, the pressure goes away. I think it's a common feeling, a normal feeling for everyone, but at the same time it's a really pleasant feeling.

You didn't start the series out on the right foot by losing map one. But on map two, you didn't do what a lot of inexperienced teams do, you did the opposite where you guys were winning all the clutches. dav1deus had a ton. Tell me about experiencing that.

It was amazing. After the first map, we knew that FURIA played well but we made a lot of mistakes. Specifically, we were not listening to each other well, we were not communicating well. When we got to the second map, starting T side on Anubis is a big advantage, we were confident. And we knew they would pick Anubis because they thought it was a weak map for us, but we were confident, we had good knowledge of what we wanted to do on the map against them.

Do you feel like you were underestimated, by FURIA or the community?

I don't think we're underestimated. I think the Brazilian scene loves so much, not only FURIA but specifically FalleN. I have no problem with that, he's a true legend. As I said in the BanKs podcast, I don't think anyone in Brazil will ever do what FalleN did for Brazil so for me it's fair enough. FURIA made playoffs with a 3-0, so they were favorites. It's how it is.

Inferno, you were down 7-1, and then had an insane run of rounds. Can you tell me what it was like for you? Snow was popping off a lot, I'm sure the vibes were great.

It was great. I've been in a terrible shape on Inferno recently, I was not feeling comfortable on the map. Before the match I talked to the boys about what I wanted to do. Since I have all the freedom in the world on this team, they let me do it, and things started clicking for me. As you said, we started 1-7, but we were believing all the time, we were saying 'we just need a few more rounds and we can come back on CT side.' That's how it went.

The bracket on your side is a bit more favorable, you're going to play MongolZ or FaZe instead of NAVI, Vitality, or MOUZ. How are you feeling about that matchup? Is there one you would like to face over the other?

Being honest, I would love to face FaZe. Because of the crowd, when they came on stage I saw how passionate the crowd was. It would be a fun match. But for me, I have no favorite, both MongolZ and FaZe are really strong teams. Whenever we play those teams, actually the match is pretty similar. It's chaos all the time, we have to pay attention to everything all the time. I'm really hyped up, whoever comes up we'll do our best.

This is a really big moment for you guys. Until Cluj this year, you'd never made a Big Event playoffs. You make that playoff, but you didn't win a game. Now, you made the Major playoff and you win the big match. What does that mean for you guys moving forward?

It means the world. When we won, I looked at dav1d, I looked at everyone. Everyone was staring at each other like, 'guys we made it.' It's early to say 'we are done, we are proud of what we've done.' We are proud but we want more. It's an amazing feeling to finally win a match in playoffs. We know we can do more, we know it will be tough. As you said, we are sort of on the easier side of the bracket but there is no easy game in the Major. I'm excited to see what will happen from now on. I'm really hyped to play whoever we have to play.

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paiN grind out Inferno overtime decider to win Brazilian derby