lux: "In Brazil, people say paiN did the wrong thing"

Yesterday, paiN became the first Americas team to qualify for the Elimination Stage of the Copenhagen Major through the Opening Stage, taking down SAW, ENCE, and Apeks to secure their spot 3-1. One of the teams with fewer eyes on them, paiN have exceeded all expectations, even their own, as Lucas "lux" Meneghini dives into. After their tremendous victory, Dust2.us' Ryan Friend spoke with lux about the team's performance, matches, and the player with all the eyes on him now, Rodrigo "biguzera" Bittencourt.

Below are snippets of the conversation while the full interview is available on YouTube.

What were your emotions like when you qualified for the Elimination Stage?

I don't know if I'll be able to say my emotions since I lost my voice. I screamed a lot. It was really good, it was amazing. It's a feeling I can't describe. It's better than qualifying for the Major, I don't know.

Since you qualified early, what are you going to do to prepare for the next stage?

Well, today we are going to celebrate. We need to celebrate. We know the tournament has just begun, but we need to celebrate as well. It's necessary. But, tomorrow, we will practice and be in shape.

Is there any opponent you'd like to play in the first match?

The easiest one for sure! I don't want to see Faze, Vitality, Spirit, but if it happens to be one of the favorites, you know, let's go.

paiN the team has a whole has been reconstructed since the Paris Major. How do you feel being able to overachieve at this international event?

In Brazil, people say paiN did the wrong thing. They entered the market later. They say paiN lost their best players and have to play with the young guys, and now we're here! We just worked and believed in ourselves.

There's been a lot of talk about biguzera, one of the best fragging in-game leaders in the world, what does he mean to you?

As I said, he's like a father to us. I don't know, I just press tab and he's 16-2 playing Outside on Nuke. I'm playing A, dying eight times, and he's only died twice. I don't know, he's a magician.

Do you think there's even more you can achieve now that you've qualified for the Elimination Stage? What do you think about the playoffs?

I think the sky is the limit. [Just qualifying for] this tournament was good for us. If we win one match, it's great. We were thinking small, but believing high.