paiN have one more chance
North America still has to wait for a team to qualify for the next stage as paiN fall to Apeks. On the same day that Complexity were sent packing at the hands of regional rivals Liquid, its getting concerning for fans in the western hemisphere. paiN has had a mixed outing so far at the Major, powering through Fluxo and Complexity, losing to FaZe in their second-round matchup and again today.
If paiN were to reach the New Legends stage, it would be the first time since PGL Antwerp 2022 that the stage featured two Brazilian squads, when Imperial qualified to join FURIA in the advanced stage. Liquid, who started out the Major 0-2, are also expected to qualify for the New Legends stage, hopefully completing the reverse comeback just as they did in none other than PGL Antwerp 2022.
ApekspaiN| Apeks |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Joakim 'jkaem' Myrbostad |
64 - 56 | +8 | 83.8 | 66.7% | 1.23 |
 Martin 'STYKO' Styk |
60 - 48 | +12 | 76.1 | 76.5% | 1.17 |
 Tim 'nawwk' Jonasson |
61 - 51 | +10 | 82.2 | 74.1% | 1.16 |
 Justinas 'jL' Lekavicius |
60 - 59 | +1 | 81.1 | 71.6% | 1.14 |
 Damjan 'kyxsan' Stoilkovski |
50 - 54 | -4 | 67.9 | 74.1% | 1.02 |
| paiN |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Wesley 'hardzao' Lopes |
62 - 52 | +10 | 73.7 | 65.4% | 1.12 |
| Rodrigo 'biguzera' Bittencourt |
59 - 58 | +1 | 79.4 | 65.4% | 1.02 |
| Felipe 'skullz' Medeiros |
59 - 61 | -2 | 80.8 | 70.4% | 1.02 |
| Gabriel 'NEKIZ' Schenato |
45 - 64 | -19 | 75.4 | 65.4% | 0.90 |
| Romeu 'zevy' Rocco |
41 - 63 | -22 | 56.5 | 56.8% | 0.72 |
Apeks proved to be a difficult opponent for paiN as they were dominant in their map pick of Ancient. The European squad proved strong on their T-side and even more effective when playing defense as they swept aside the Brazilians in a 16-11 map win. Martin "STYKO" Styk and his men were hoping to clean up the match in a swift 2-0, but Wesley "hardzao" Lopes would not let that happen he helped lead paiN to just eek past the Fragadelphia 17 semifinalists 16-13 on their pick of Vertigo.
With the final map of Anubis between paiN and qualification, the pressure was definitely mounting. An impressive CT-half from paiN would put them only one round down against Apeks as they headed into their second half. paiN just couldn't find their form as they lost their groove in the second half and would ultimately go down 16-9.
paiN will be playing Monte tomorrow in the 2-2 qualification match.
