snow on biguzera's clutch: "I think that's what a leader is there for"

The Brazilian team will take on The MongolZ on Sunday for a playoff spot.

paiN are still in the race for a playoff spot at the Esports World Cup following a come-from-behind victory against Wildcard in Group D's lower braket.

The Brazilian side bounced back from an overtime loss on Inferno with a blowout win on Nuke before completing the turnaround on Mirage, where Rodrigo "⁠biguzera⁠" Bittencourt 's 1v4 clutch proved pivotal in fending off Wildcard 's comeback attempt.

"I think that's what a leader is there for," João "⁠snow⁠" Vinicius said of his captain's clutch. "I think it's very important for the leader to show up in those moments, especially when we need a round.

"I think it was very important, the clutch was really good. And I think it helped us a lot to win that match. And I'm very happy for him, very happy for that round."

The 19-year-old also commented on paiN 's inconsistency issues and gave his thoughts on Sunday's clash against The MongolZ , whom his team has yet to beat this year.

"We know they're a great team," he said. "They made two changes recently. I think that could favor us. They're very young players, so we don't know their playstyle very well, but we know the way MongolZ likes to play. And I think we're going in well prepared for this game. I hope we get the win, because it's very important for us."

You're still alive in this tournament after a 2-1 victory. The first map was very close, but you ended up losing it in overtime. Nuke was controlled by you. The third map got a bit tight at the end before you closed it out. Give me your thoughts on the match.

I think this was an important best-of-three for us, for us to get that confidence of winning the first match of a tournament. I think they came in very strongly on that first map, I think they came well prepared for our type of game. And we ended up losing some situations, we lost some T-side rounds to time, and I think that made things a bit harder for us, mainly because of the economy. And I think we managed to come back well, we managed to stay resilient for the other two maps, and I think we played Mirage and Nuke really well, so I'm happy.

On Mirage, things were a bit difficult, and then biguzera turned the game around with that clutch. How did the team react to that round?

I think that's what a leader is there for. I think it's very important for the leader to show up in those moments, especially when we need a round. I think it was very important, the clutch was really good. And I think it helped us a lot to win that match. And I'm very happy for him, very happy for that round.

How was your preparation for this tournament? Did you go back to Brazil after the Bounty, or did you stay in Europe?

After the BLAST we went back to Brazil and stayed there for a week. We managed to practice a few days back in Brazil. And I think our preparation was good. The only thing we have to do is bring what we do in practice into tournaments, which in my opinion is the hardest part. In my opinion, we can get good results in this championship if we play the same way we do in practice.

How do you look at your start to the season? Because you lost to DENDELE in the BLAST Porto qualifier, you went out last at Stake, made the quarterfinals at Bounty, and now a win and a loss so far here. You're still a team that trends up and down, right? It's been hard to find consistency in your game.

Honestly, I think the start of the second half of the season hasn't been that good. We have to be honest with ourselves. For me, we fell short in some moments that we shouldn't have. You gave the example of the qualifier against DENDELE. Sure, they're a great team, but we have to beat them at some moments, especially when the game is going our way, especially on our pick maps. And I think that against these teams, we have to have the confidence to close these maps out.

And I think we didn't do well at Stake. We faced two opponents that we had the potential to beat, we know that. We didn't have a good result, but we've worked hard to improve, to turn things around, and I think we're reaping the rewards and improving little by little.

Before this match today, you were No. 36 in the ranking. Now you've gone up eight positions. It was a very important win, since you need wins on LAN. Is this something that worries you, your position in the ranking, or do you think that with more tournaments, you'll manage to stabilize your position in the ranking?

Honestly, I don't understand much about the VRS, I just play. But of course we have a general idea of it, right? We have to have a general idea because we’re players, but I do think that we have to win these games, especially at LAN events, because it makes a big difference in terms of points — from what little I understand. And for sure that makes a big difference. Us having a good result here is going to make a difference for the next events we might be invited to. And it's also important for the Major, important to get spots at big events, which is what we're always aiming for.

You're now going up against The MongolZ. You've played them twice this year and you lost both times. They have a slightly different roster with two different players. What do you expect from this match?

We know they're a great team. They made two changes recently. I think that could favor us. They're very young players, so we don't know their playstyle very well, but we know the way MongolZ likes to play. And I think we're going in well prepared for this game. I hope we get the win, because it's very important for us.