paiN eye skullz and zevy to complete roster

Earlier today, Dust2 Brasil reported that paiN will be looking to fill out their roster with the signings of Brazilian youngsters Romeu "zevy" Rocco and Felipe "skullz" Medeiros. This report comes very shortly after paiN opted to move both Gabriel "nython" Lino and Gabriel "NEKIZ" Schenato to the squad's bench.

paiN were not a squad that many expected to make sweeping changes heading into the player break, as the squad attained some respectable placings throughout the first half of 2022. Domestically, the team fared considerably well despite the loss of star AWPer Rafael "saffee" Costa at the start of the year, with the team placing third and first place in ECL Seasons 40 and 41 respectively.

The team also got the chance to play at two European LANs, playing in the BLAST Premier Spring Final and the IEM Cologne Play-in. While paiN did not make deep runs in either of these events, they certainly showcased some potential against squads like Vitality, MOUZ, and Sprout.

While paiN have had quite a few successes so far in 2022, there were still periodic hiccups for the squad in the first half of the year. The biggest bump in the road for paiN was without a doubt the Americas RMR, where the team narrowly missed out on qualifying for the PGL Major Antwerp after losses to MIBR, Liquid, and 9z.

Although the team opted to part ways with nython and NEKIZ earlier this week, it seems that they have already settled on their intended replacements. Taking up the AWP on paiN will be 21-year-old zevy, who has been playing in Brazil with Sharks since March of 2021, having also previously played for DETONA in 2020. zevy has been a force to be reckoned with in Brazil, averaging a stellar 1.26 rating throughout 2022. zevy last played in the Aorus League Invitational in June, where his team-high 1.39 rating helped Sharks secure a first-place finish after besting higher-ranked squads such as ARCTIC and UNO MILLE.

Filling the spot left behind by NEKIZ is 20-year-old skullz, who currently plays for ODDIK in Brazil, although he previously competed in international events during a four-month stint with oNe in early 2021. Since his stint with oNe, skullz spent time on Liberty in the latter half of 2021, and UNO MILLE in the first half of this year. In 2022, skullz has averaged a promising 1.19 rating, often leading his squad in rating in both open qualifiers and domestic leagues.

If paiN go through with these signings, their roster would be:

• Rodrigo "biguzera" Bittencourt

• Vinicios "PKL" Coelho

• Wesley "hardzao" Lopes

• Romeu "zevy" Rocco

• Felipe "skullz" Medeiros

• Bruno "bruno" Lesnik (Coach)

• Henrique "rikz" Waku (Assistant Coach)

• Gabriel "NEKIZ" Schenato (Inactive)

• Gabriel "nython" Lino (Inactive)

paiN will have some time to sort out their lineup, as the squad will not be competing until mid-August, with ECL Season 42 kicking off on August 16th.