Despite some individual heroics and brilliance from the Australians, today’s early matchup between paiN and Rooster never really got exciting.

On the first map of Anubis, it was Akram 'ADK' Smida who made three clutches in the first half alone to secure his team an 8-7 lead at the break. But during the second half it became evident, that paiN was just on another level.

Romeu 'zevy' Rocco had a field day with his AWP taking down 30 opponents during the 27 rounds it took paiN to win 16-11.

The Brazilians continued their dominance on Nuke and were able to distance Rooster in the first half. Down 3-12, it was an uphill battle for Rooster on their T-side, which ended fairly quickly. paiN keeps themselves alive in the group with a 16-4 win, while Rooster will face the loser of 00Nation vs. Grayhound on Saturday in the Last Chance Stage.

paiN Gaming – Rooster 2-0 | ESL Pro League Season 17 Group C

MVP: {cflag:BR} Romeu 'zevy' Rocco - 1.62 rating / 48-26 K-D / 105.7 ADR

zevy

paiN

In the CCT North American Series 2, paiN Gaming got invited directly into the playoffs of the tournament. An invitation that the Brazilians made the most of by winning the tournament with a 2-0 win in the Grand Final against Nouns.

paiN Gaming had eliminated EG White and MIBR along the way, while Nouns had taken care of Complexity to reach the Final. Here it was paiN Gaming's Romeu 'zevy' Rocco, who stole the headlines with a brilliant Grand Final. The Brazilian finished the match with a 1.52 score and 100.8 in ADR. 

paiN Gaming won $11.000 for first place, while Nouns took $5.000 home for second place.

paiN is back to five players after they said goodbye to Gabriel "NEKIZ" Schenato who signed with 0 PLANO, as well as moving the 24-year-old Gabriel "nython" Lino to the bench. According to [link:{"url":"https://www.dust2.com.br/noticias/30304/pain-tambem-pagou-quantia-milionaria-por-zevy","isNewTab":true,"text":"Dust.com.br"}] the 21-year-old zevy and skullz cost a hefty 325,000€.

paiN has been a solid top 30 team for the majority of 2022, and now with their two new additions they are aiming after getting into the top 20. zevy has been averaging 1.17 rating over his year at Sharks, and is currently sitting with a 1.38 rating over the past 2 months. Skullz also got some impressive numbers with a 1.19 rating over the last 40 matches played. 

The next big event for paiN is the ESL Challenger Melbourne 2022 from September 2. to September 4. Pain will be playing against teams like OG, Imperial, and Entropiq.

skullz

The BLAST Premier Spring Showdown consists of a Bo3 single-elimination bracket, which means that every match is life or death. The winner will take one of the remaining two spots at BLAST Premier Spring Final 2022.

Here we give you a run-through of the teams, that we have placed in different brackets; Favorites, Contenders, and Outsiders.

[image:{"source":"cloudinary","publicId":"players/arT_tuup5w","originalWidth":2048,"originalHeight":1152,"customWidth":"100%","customHeight":"100%","cloudinaryAssetData":true,"cloudName":"pley-gg","format":"jpg","caption":"Credit: PGL"}]

has throughout the last couple of years cemented themselves as one of the strongest teams in the Americas, and as the best team in Brazil. With a combination of uncontrollable aggression and enormous amounts of talent, this squad has proven to be one of the hardest teams to play against. After acquiring "drop" and "saffee" the team has been trending upwards, and if all their pieces are working they will be very hard to deal with.

Player to watch: {cflag:BR} Andrei "arT" Piovezan is by far the most aggressive player in the world both stylistically and statistically. Furthermore, he is one of the most successful players in opening duels making him an extremely exciting, unique, and entertaining player.

[image:{"source":"cloudinary","publicId":"players/shox_klg49w","originalWidth":2048,"originalHeight":1152,"customWidth":"100%","customHeight":"100%","cloudinaryAssetData":true,"cloudName":"pley-gg","format":"jpg","caption":"Credit: PGL"}]

had a rough start to the year after some big roster changes, but they have started showing why they should still be considered one of the top contenders in America. With "nitr0", who earlier led the team to an Intel Grand Slam, leading a band of star players who are currently performing on an extraordinarily high level, this squad can take on even the toughest opponents. 

Player to watch: {cflag:FR} Richard "shox" Papillon will not deliver the same high numbers as some of his teammates, but the Frenchman is one of the most exciting players to watch when the situations get tough and he can really flex his brain!

[image:{"source":"cloudinary","publicId":"players/floppy_sy72jf","originalWidth":2048,"originalHeight":1152,"customWidth":"100%","customHeight":"100%","cloudinaryAssetData":true,"cloudName":"pley-gg","format":"jpg","caption":"Credit: PGL"}]

have been together for about three months now, and even though they have not consistently been able to challenge the top-tier teams, they have done exceedingly well against their American rivals. They are a very young team full of talent which means that anything can happen.

Player to watch: {cflag:US} Ricky "floppy" Kernery has been the consistent player on this team. With great fundamentals and an impeccable aim, the 22-year-old rifler is one to look out for.

[image:{"source":"cloudinary","publicId":"teams/MIBR/Copyright_-_Bart-Oerbekke_-_mibr_vccz8h","originalWidth":3840,"originalHeight":2160,"customWidth":"100%","customHeight":"100%","cloudinaryAssetData":true,"cloudName":"pley-gg","format":"jpg","caption":"Credit: Bart Oerbekke ESL","alt":"CS:GO, Counter-Strike"}]

is one of the most exciting teams in the world, as they have a very unique approach to the game. It is a team that is hard to play against because you never know what they are going to throw at you. The Brazilian squad has a great track record over the last couple of months, but many of those matches are against lower-tier teams.

Player to watch: {cflag:BR} Jhonatan "JOTA" Willian has been delivering consistently high numbers since he started playing professionally and is right now playing some of his best CS!

[image:{"source":"cloudinary","publicId":"players/hen1_lvbgmf","originalWidth":2048,"originalHeight":1152,"customWidth":"100%","customHeight":"100%","cloudinaryAssetData":true,"cloudName":"pley-gg","format":"jpg","caption":"Credit: StarLadder Igor Bezborodov"}]

went Brazilian a little more than a year ago, and even though the project was a little uncertain the young roster has flourished under the leadership of "TACO". The team recently picked up "HEN1" as the main AWP'er, and if things fall into place with the ex-FURIA star this is a team that can challenge the big boys.

Player to watch: {cflag:BR} Henrique "HEN1" Teles has not found the level he displayed in 2020 yet, but he will need to if GODSENT want to have a chance at securing the Spring Final spot.

[image:{"source":"cloudinary","publicId":"players/hardzao_pain_j4at6k","originalWidth":2048,"originalHeight":1152,"customWidth":"100%","customHeight":"100%","cloudinaryAssetData":true,"cloudName":"pley-gg","format":"jpg","caption":"Credit: PGL"}]

has had a rough go of it in recent times. They have rarely managed to beat tier 1 or tier 2 teams and will have to shake things up to make an upset.

Player to watch: {cflag:BR} Wesley "hardzao" Lopes needs to step up. He has enormous talent but needs to deliver on a higher level than he has.

[image:{"source":"cloudinary","publicId":"players/cerq_ul6nq5","originalWidth":2048,"originalHeight":1152,"customWidth":"100%","customHeight":"100%","cloudinaryAssetData":true,"cloudName":"pley-gg","format":"jpg","caption":"Credit: PGL"}]

 was also one of the teams that made a roster change at the start of the year, but they have not yet had much success. Even though there are several Major-winners from the old Cloud9 that won the ELEAGUE Boston Major 2018, this constellation can not seem to find the winning ticket.

Player to watch: {cflag:BG} Tsvetelin "CeRq" Dimitrov was once considered one of the best AWP'ers in the world, and he needs to find out how to get back to that level if the Geniuses are to stand a chance.

are at #114 the lowest-ranked team at the event, and not a lot is expected from them. They did however recently beat Imperial twice, both in a Bo3 and a Bo1.

Player to watch: {cflag:BR} Romeu "zevy" Rocco has been a beam of light for the Sharks. The 20-year-old AWP'er will have to play the tournament of his life to make the Sharks' dreams come true.

CeRq

hardzao

HEN1

floppy

shox

Team Liquid

FURIA

Evil Geniuses

GODSENT

compLexity Gaming

MIBR

The 19-year-old zevy is the final player to join Shark, completing their roster and filling the spot left by Fillipe “pancc” Martins, who was suspended for a period of four to six months in January after he was accused of sexual harassment by a teenage girl on social media.

Sharks are at the moment bootcamping in Serbia with their now line up, preparing for their first appearance in the regional group stage of Snow Sweet Snow 2, which is scheduled to start on February 17.

Leonardo “leo_drk” Oliveira (benched) 

	30 days	90 days
Fixture count	0	0
Maps count	0	0

zevy

Player stats

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BLAST Premier Spring Showdown NA Preview

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