NEKIZ: "Ever since we beat OG...we knew that was the first step of something big"

Yesterday, paiN qualified for the BLAST.tv Paris Major by crushing Fluxo in their 2-0 matchup. Their run at the Americas RMR has been relatively unabated, with their closest matchup being a touch-and-go match with Complexity that the Brazilians sailed away within the second half. After their successful qualification, Dust2.us' Ryan Friend talked with Gabriel "NEKIZ" Schenato.

paiN, not traditionally one of the better teams in the region, has gone on a spree of great placements ever since reinstating NEKIZ into the lineup, including two wins over Liquid, a finals appearance at BLAST Showdown, and now, a Major spot with a Legends fight later tonight. Their rapid rise has not gone unnoticed within the team either.

It feels amazing man. This team deserves a lot. We're playing super good lately, and this is a dream for everyone. Everybody wants to play a Major. We got skullz to play a Major! I'm super proud of him right now, he's a beast.

The undercurrents of American Counter-Strike might not be noticeable for those across the Atlantic, so seeing a that has struggled outside of domestic competitions take big scalps certainly turned some heads. paiN's progress has been coming for many months, but now they just need to surpass that final hurdle.

Ever since we beat OG at Pro League, we knew that was the first step of something big. Everyone is happy right now, We are delivering the games, we're winning everything. Except against Imperial, but they played super well.

That game against OG was the first European opposition they beat at that ESL Pro League run, which culminated in a playoff appearance and a 9-12th finish.

Every time we played against a European team, we struggled. We never flowed. I remember a game against Astralis, we were up 15-8 and we lost. We couldn't close games out. I don't know why, I think it was a mental thing. So, ever since we won against OG, we knew that next step was happening. It was just a feeling.

Watch the rest of the interview below, where NEKIZ dives into the Legends matchup, the change of IGL, and a European bootcamp.