paiN secure victory in ESEA Spring Cash Cup 5
paiN have reigned supreme in the fifth ESEA Spring Cash Cup, taking down Carpe Diem 2-0 in the grand finals to take home the lion's share of the $15,000 prize pool. Elsewhere, Gaimin Gladiators managed to best Party Astronauts in the third-place decider matchup to bag $2,000 of their own.
paiN's run through the first day of the event was rather uneventful, with swift and one-sided victories versus Good Friends, outdone, and ONET4P helping the side book an appearance in the semifinals on day two.
The first BO3 of the tournament for Gabriel "NEKIZ" Schenato and company came in the form of Gaimin Gladiators with Inferno playing host to the first map of the series. Once there, little could separate the two sides, with the Gladiators leading by just one round by the end of the first half. Despite this, paiN soon came alive once on the offense, adding nine rounds to Gaimin Gladiators' three to snatch Inferno 16-11 and go up 1-0 in the series.
The Gladiators came out swinging once on paiN's pick of Ancient, drumming up an opening 10-5 defensive lead thanks to a stellar 1.92 rating by Brendan "Bwills" Williams. In spite of this, the Brazilians quickly began eating away at the deficit once they were on the favored side, adding eleven rounds whilst brushing aside token American resistance to take Ancient 16-12 and set up a grand final matchup versus Carpe Diem.
Despite kicking off the final on the North American's pick of Overpass, it would actually be paiN who got off to the better start with the Brazilians cruising to a comfortable 9-6 lead by the end of their CT-side. Although Jadan "HexT" Postma's squad did wake up a little once it was their turn to defend, it simply wasn't enough to bring down the paiN train. This saw the Brazilians and Americans exchange seven-round halves before paiN clinched Overpass 16-13 to lead 1-0 in the matchup.
Eager to take home gold after only netting themselves silver last time, paiN started deadly on their pick of Nuke, accruing an impressive 10-5 offensive lead with Vinicios "PKL" Coelho being the driving force; boasting a team-high 1.87 rating throughout the half. Once on the CT-side, the Brazilians wasted no time in finding the six rounds they needed to secure Nuke 16-6, earning themselves a $9,000 payday in the process.
paiNCarpe Diem| paiN |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Rodrigo 'biguzera' Bittencourt |
36 - 27 | +9 | 82.1 | 74.5% | 1.35 |
| Gabriel 'NEKIZ' Schenato |
39 - 25 | +14 | 74.0 | 80.4% | 1.30 |
| Vinicios 'PKL' Coelho |
42 - 29 | +13 | 82.4 | 78.4% | 1.29 |
| Gabriel 'nython' Lino |
40 - 28 | +12 | 83.5 | 72.5% | 1.25 |
| Wesley 'hardzao' Lopes |
30 - 29 | +1 | 76.6 | 72.5% | 1.09 |
| Carpe Diem |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Anthony 'CLASIA' Kearney |
29 - 36 | -7 | 76.0 | 64.7% | 0.89 |
| Jerric 'wiz' Jiang |
34 - 39 | -5 | 67.6 | 56.9% | 0.89 |
 Jadan 'HexT' Postma |
24 - 35 | -11 | 56.9 | 60.8% | 0.74 |
| Colby 'Walco' Walsh |
27 - 39 | -12 | 67.8 | 52.9% | 0.71 |
| Connor 'chop' Sullivan |
23 - 39 | -16 | 57.6 | 49.0% | 0.66 |
paiN's victory in this Cash Cup sees them make up for the second-place finish achieved last time whilst competing under the Happy Mouse moniker. The Brazilians will be hoping this victory can help build their confidence in the coming weeks as they're set to head to Lisbon, Portugal, in June for the BLAST Premier Spring Finals. Here, they'll be going head-to-head with the likes of FaZe, NAVI and ENCE with a whopping $425,000 up for grabs.
The final standings for the ESEA Spring Cash Cup 5 are:
1. paiN (NEKIZ, PKL, nython, biguzera, hardzao, Coach: rikz) - $9,000
2. Carpe Diem (HexT, Walco, wiz, CLASIA, chop, Coach: Axed) - $4,000
3. Gaimin Gladiators (JazzPimp, nosraC, jeorgesnorts, cynic, Bwills, Coach: SEMPHIS) - $2,000
4. Party Astronauts (ben1337, PwnAlone, Jonji, viz, djay, Coach: Muenster)
The next ESEA Cash Cup is scheduled for two week's time, getting underway on June 11th. Interested teams can register here.
