paiN eliminated Wildcard 2-1 in the Group D lower bracket at the Esports World Cup, setting up a do-or-die match against The MongolZ for a playoff spot, HLTV reported. The Brazilian side had dropped into the lower bracket after losing their opening match of the tournament to 9z.
Wildcard's Inferno pick opened the series and produced the closest map of the three. paiN stormed out to a 6-0 lead before Wildcard staged a turnaround and surged to 10-6. Unable to lock down that advantage, the North American team were dragged into overtime after multiple back-and-forth rounds, but their CT-side play in the extra rounds proved the stronger and they took their own pick 16-12.
Nuke swung the series back the other way. Wildcard failed to carry their Inferno momentum across, grabbing three rounds on the CT side before losing control of the map. Rafael “saffee” Costa produced the AWP-fuelled highlights, an early triple opening up a bigger advantage for his team, including an incredible triple, and he finished rated 2.10 on a one-sided second map that ended 13-3.
Mirage, the decider, followed a similar shape. The CT side proved favourable for both teams, but paiN opened up an 11-1 lead before the switch. Wildcard mounted a comeback attempt of their own, only for a Rodrigo “biguzera” Bittencourt quad-kill in round 18 to break their momentum and hand paiN match point. They converted two rounds later for 13-7.
Both teams won their own map picks across the series, leaving Mirage to settle it, and Wildcard exit the tournament. paiN's next test in the Group D lower bracket comes against The MongolZ, with the winner taking a playoff place and the loser going out.
