paiN have booked their place in the next phase of ESL Pro League Season 21 after a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Nemiga. The Brazilian squad battled through three maps, dropping Train 7-13, recovering on Mirage with a 13-9 win, and narrowly sealing the deal on Dust2 with a tense 13-11 finish. This victory locks in paiN as the penultimate team to advance, with just one more slot remaining for the winner of the upcoming FURIA vs. M80 matchup.

Despite progressing, paiN’s performance has left room for improvement as they prepare to face significantly tougher competition in the next stage. Rodrigo “⁠biguzera⁠” Bittencourt and his teammates will need to refine their play if they hope to contend with higher-ranked squads. Meanwhile, Nemiga’s journey in the tournament comes to an end. The young CIS lineup managed an impressive upset against HEROIC earlier in the week but fell short of repeating that success against paiN, despite pushing them to the limit in the deciding map.

paiN’s tournament run has been anything but smooth. Their campaign includes victories over Housebets, Lynn Vision, and Nemiga, yet the last two came down to the wire. On the other hand, unexpected losses to M80 and FlyQuest highlighted inconsistencies in their play, raising concerns about their overall form heading into the next phase.

Reflecting on their struggles, Lucas “⁠nqz⁠” Soares admitted that the team hasn’t been at its best in Sweden. “I was the only person who didn’t get sick,” he revealed after their victory. “Mission completed for us. We weren’t playing well right now, but we can’t use it as an excuse.”

nqz also took a moment to acknowledge his teammate Kaue “⁠kauez⁠” Kaschuk, who had a difficult series with a 0.72 rating but delivered in the crucial moments of Dust2. “This last round, kauez saved us. I went close to the smoke and they naded it, and I thought, ‘Oh yeah, we’re screwed now,'” nqz admitted.

While paiN have made it through, their performance suggests they will need to make major adjustments if they want to compete at the highest level in the next round of the tournament.