Wesley “hardzao” Lopes, a 22-year-old player, has announced that he is no longer part of paiN Gaming’s active roster and has been moved to the bench.
This decision follows the recent benching of Gabriel “NEKIZ” Schenato and the team’s reported interest in recruiting Cássio “cass1n” Santos and Lucas “lux” Meneghini.
During his nearly four-year tenure with paiN Gaming, hardzao contributed to their victories in various tournaments such as ESL Challenger Melbourne, CBCS Invitational 2022, CCT North America Series 2, and ESL Challenger League Season 41 North America. The team also achieved success in smaller tournaments across North and South America, including multiple ESEA Cash Cup titles and qualifications for international events.
Although paiN Gaming initially struggled to compete at a high level on the global stage while hardzao was on the team, they began to experience improved results under the leadership of Rodrigo “biguzera” Bittencourt. They reached the Challengers Stage of the BLAST.tv Paris Major but were unable to advance further, finishing the event with a 2-3 record. Subsequently, the team’s performance declined significantly.
It remains uncertain who will replace hardzao in the roster. Reports suggest that paiN Gaming will lose Romeu “zevy” Rocco to Fluxo and have already benched NEKIZ. cass1n is expected to join as a replacement for NEKIZ, while lux is reportedly being considered as a replacement for another player. With hardzao‘s benching, paiN Gaming has one remaining spot to fill before the start of the season.
Here is the current roster of paiN Gaming:
- Rodrigo “biguzera” Bittencourt
- Felipe “skullz” Medeiros
- Romeu “zevy” Rocco
- Henrique “rikz” Waku (coach)
- Gabriel “NEKIZ” Schenato (benched)
- Vinicios “PKL” Coelho (benched)
- Wesley “hardzao” Lopes (benched)
