paiN close in on FURIA Academy player

According to a report by Roque Marques of Dust2 Brasil, paiN are set to acquire FURIA Academy player Kaue "kauez" Kaschuk to complete their lineup for the second half of 2023. The 20-year-old youngster will join paiN after being touted as a potential addition to FURIA's main lineup before the squad were able to lock down the services of Marcelo "chelo" Cespedes from Imperial.

The addition of kauez to paiN after a period of strong form for the rifler, with kauez boasting a 1.16 rating over 103 maps in 2023 thus far. His previous tenure in the Brazilian subtop includes stints the previously mentioned FURIA Academy, alongside MEGAZORD and DETONA. He has been the subject of interest by Brazilian CS:GO insiders for sometime, especially alongside his MEGAZORD compatriots, being profiled by Rafael Ferreira in a 2021 feature for Rush B Media.

The general thesis of that article was that kauez is part of a cadre of young Brazilian stars who's careers were impacted by receiving VAC bans early in their careers. Notably, the discovery of kauez's VAC ban during CBCS Elite League Season 1 cost DETONA a chance to earn points for a chance to qualify to the PGL Major Stockholm, the first Major post-COVID.

This event ended up being somewhat of a trainwreck as four other teams had to pull out due to having possible VAC-banned players, including Isurus who had future FURIA and MIBR player André "drop" Abreu as a stand-in. Fortunately for kauez, his VAC ban is set to end in October this year, allowing him to fight for the first CS2 Major in Denmark next year.

The decision to bet on kauez as a future star aligns with paiN's approach to this off-season, which seems to center around betting on younger players rather than more expensive established old stars, as seen with FURIA and Imperial. Alongside kauez, Cássio "cass1n" Santos is set to be promoted from paiN Academy while Lucas "lux" Meneghini's call-up is a calculated risk based on his potential despite an underwhelming showing on Fluxo.

paiN will likely be:

• Rodrigo "biguzera" Bittencourt

• Felipe "skullz" Medeiros

• Cássio "cass1n" Santos

• Lucas "lux" Meneghini

• Kaue "kauez" Kaschuk

• Wesley "hardzao" Lopes (Inactive)

• Henrique "rikz" Waku (Coach)