Brazilian powerhouse paiN Gaming has locked in Vinicius “vsm” Moreira from Keyd Stars and Guilherme “piriajr” Barbosa (on loan from Bounty Hunters Esports) to revamp its Counter-Strike 2 lineup.
The shake up follows a benching of dav1deuS and dgt after a dismal 14th place finish at the StarLadder Budapest Major. Despite a stellar top four run at the BLAST.tv Austin Major, paiN faltered with early knockouts at IEM Cologne 2025 and the CS Asia Championships, prompting the hunt for consistency.
The revamped 2026 roster now features:
- biguzera
- nqz
- snow
- vsm
- piriajr
- riksz (head coach)
paiN shared their vision on social media:
2025 foi um ano importante na nossa evolução no Counter-Strike. Vivemos momentos de crescimento e competitividade em alto nível, mas também aprendizados necessários. Não fomos tão consistentes quanto buscamos ao longo de toda a temporada, e reconhecer isso faz parte do nosso… pic.twitter.com/Im4eb2cxrH
— paiN Gaming (@paiNGamingBR) January 9, 2026
The squad hits the ground running at BLAST Bounty Season 1 closed qualifiers on January 13, vying for a spot at the Malta LAN finals and crucial VRS points. This move mirrors off season flux in Brazil, with MIBR cutting ties with Qikert on January 2.
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- Source: https://www.esportsbets.com/news/pain-gaming-bolsters-cs2-roster-with-vsm-and-piriajr-signings/