biguzera questions paiN’s trust after Porto exit: “We don’t trust each other anymore”

paiN captain Rodrigo “biguzera” Bittencourt did not try to soften the diagnosis after his team crashed out of BLAST Open Porto 2026. Following a 2-0 elimination loss to Natus Vincere, the Brazilian in-game leader pointed beyond individual mistakes or a bad map and toward a deeper problem: confidence between teammates has started to disappear.

The comments came after another difficult series for paiN, who fell 13-9 on Nuke before letting a commanding 10-2 halftime advantage on Mirage slip away. NAVI won 11 of the next 12 rounds to take the map 13-11 and close the series without needing Inferno.

For biguzera, the manner of the defeat was more concerning than the scoreline itself. He described paiN’s level as “very poor Counter-Strike” and struggled to pinpoint one isolated reason for the collapse, instead pointing toward nerves, communication and decision-making as problems that appeared simultaneously.

Quick Context

Detail	Information
Player	Rodrigo “biguzera” Bittencourt
Team	paiN
Role	In-game leader / rifler
Event	BLAST Open Porto 2026
Match	Natus Vincere vs paiN
Result	NAVI 2-0 paiN
Maps	Nuke 13-9, Mirage 13-11
Tournament status	paiN eliminated
Main storyline	biguzera believes trust and communication inside paiN have deteriorated
Next confirmed event	IEM Beijing 2026 Closed Qualifier

paiN currently field Vinicius “vsm” Moreira, biguzera, Guilherme “piriajr” Barbosa, Rafael “saffee” Costa and João “snow” Vinicius under coach Henrique “rikz” Waku. HLTV lists the team at No. 20 in its world ranking.

Why biguzera’s comments matter

This was not simply frustration after one elimination.

The loss to NAVI left paiN with only one series victory across their latest six matches: a 2-1 win over Wildcard at the Esports World Cup. Around it came defeats to Astralis, 9z, The MongolZ, FURIA and now NAVI. The slide followed a more encouraging BLAST Bounty Season 2 campaign in which paiN beat Gentle Mates and Ninjas in Pyjamas before losing to Astralis at the LAN finals.

That context changes the weight of biguzera’s assessment. The IGL was not describing a team that had simply lost a close elimination match. He was talking about a roster whose Counter-Strike has become increasingly difficult to reproduce from event to event.

His concern was also not framed purely around results. In the original interview, biguzera stressed that questions about whether the lineup is working come more from how paiN are playing than from the numbers in the results column.

That distinction matters. A team can accept losses if its structure, communication and decision-making remain convincing. biguzera’s comments suggest paiN are currently less certain about those foundations.

The Mirage collapse exposed paiN’s biggest problem

Mirage was the clearest example of what biguzera was trying to describe.

paiN reached halftime with a 10-2 advantage on NAVI’s map pick and were three rounds away from forcing Inferno. Instead, NAVI produced an 11-1 second half and escaped with a 13-11 victory.

For a struggling team, losing from that position inevitably shifts attention from preparation toward execution under pressure.

biguzera did not reduce the comeback to one tactical error. His immediate impression was that nerves had affected paiN and that both the communication and calling deteriorated. At one point, his summary of how the game felt was simply: “It’s not for us.”

The statistics underline how abruptly the series changed. snow finished as paiN’s highest-rated player across the two maps with a 1.21 rating, while vsm posted 1.12. biguzera ended the series at 0.98. For NAVI, makazze led the way with a 1.28 rating overall.

There were enough individual contributions for paiN to compete. What disappeared on Mirage was their ability to turn that position into a map win.

Trust has become part of the tactical problem

Trust in Counter-Strike is not an abstract team-building concept. It affects rotations, spacing, trading, utility usage and the speed at which players commit to an IGL’s call.

That makes biguzera’s concern particularly relevant given his role.

When an in-game leader feels players are second-guessing situations, communication can easily swing in both directions: too little information when players hesitate, or too much when several voices try to solve the same round at once. biguzera specifically referenced both communication problems and over-communication when discussing what may be damaging paiN’s cohesion.

The Mirage second half looked consistent with that broader diagnosis. NAVI did not need a dominant individual carry to complete the comeback; paiN simply stopped converting the rounds that had put them in control.

The challenge for the Brazilian side is therefore bigger than finding another map to practice or correcting a handful of setups. The team needs to restore clarity when matches become uncomfortable.

Is paiN’s roster now under pressure?

biguzera was also asked the unavoidable question: when does poor team play become a roster problem?

He acknowledged that such thoughts naturally enter the players’ minds, but stopped well short of calling for changes. His position was that decisions over the lineup belong with the organization and staff, while his responsibility is to remain “focused on the process.”

That is an important distinction given paiN’s recent history.

The organization already changed its AWPer situation during the season. Lucas “nqz” Soares stepped away from competition for personal reasons in April, prompting paiN to bring saffee back. The experienced AWPer subsequently joined the active lineup, reuniting with an organization he previously represented before moving to FURIA in 2022.

HLTV’s lineup records show the current biguzera-vsm-piriajr-snow-saffee configuration in use since May. Across 54 recorded maps, that five-man lineup has a 26-28 record and no LAN top-three finish.

The team is therefore established enough for its problems to carry weight, but not so old that another immediate change is the obvious solution.

biguzera’s interview instead places the first responsibility on repairing how the existing five communicate and trust one another.

A difficult second half of the season

Porto continued an uneven stretch for paiN.

Their Esports World Cup run ended against The MongolZ, who beat them 13-10 on Nuke and 13-4 on Inferno in a series that would have sent the winner into the playoffs. paiN’s only win at that event came against Wildcard.

Two days before the NAVI elimination, FURIA had also dismantled paiN in their Porto opener, winning 13-2 on Mirage and 13-6 on Cache. That result immediately dropped biguzera and company into the lower bracket.

There was therefore already pressure on paiN before they faced NAVI.

The Brazilian side had previously shown that it could beat recognizable international opposition — including 2-0 victories over Gentle Mates and NIP during BLAST Bounty Season 2 — but those peaks have not translated into sustained form.

The recurring issue is no longer whether paiN can produce a strong match. It is whether they can maintain the same level once momentum turns against them.

No meaningful recent NAVI head-to-head to fall back on

The elimination match was not shaped by an extensive recent rivalry between the current paiN and NAVI lineups.

HLTV’s pre-match head-to-head data showed no previous wins for either current core against the other, making current form and in-series adaptation far more relevant than historical meetings.

NAVI entered the lower bracket with problems of their own after losing 2-1 to M80 in their Porto opener. They won Anubis 13-4 before dropping Mirage and Inferno by identical 6-13 scores.

Against paiN, however, NAVI recovered from the 10-2 Mirage deficit rather than allowing another series to escape.

For paiN, that reversal made the loss particularly damaging.

Interesting facts

• paiN’s current lineup consists of vsm, biguzera, piriajr, saffee and snow, with rikz as coach.
• saffee returned to paiN in April 2026 after nqz stepped away from competition for personal reasons.
• paiN led NAVI 10-2 at halftime on Mirage but lost the map 13-11.
• snow was paiN’s best-rated player in the NAVI series with a 1.21 rating across the two maps.
• The current five have played more than 50 maps together but are still searching for their first LAN top-three finish with this configuration.

What comes next for paiN?

Porto is over for paiN, but they will not have much time to reset.

Their next confirmed assignment is the IEM Beijing 2026 Closed Qualifier, scheduled for September 2-4. The 16-team online event will use a double-elimination best-of-three bracket, with the top two teams earning places at IEM Beijing.

That makes the qualifier an immediate test of whether paiN can address the issues biguzera identified.

There is no obvious mechanical solution to a lack of confidence between teammates. It has to show up in faster decisions, cleaner communication and the ability to remain organized after losing several rounds in succession.

After Mirage, those details are difficult to dismiss.

biguzera did not announce a roster crisis or demand changes. What he did was arguably more revealing: he admitted that paiN’s Counter-Strike no longer feels built on the same level of trust.

The Beijing qualifier will provide the first indication of whether the team can rebuild it.

FAQ

Who is biguzera?

Rodrigo “biguzera” Bittencourt is a Brazilian rifler and the in-game leader of paiN. He has represented the organization since 2019.

What happened between paiN and NAVI at BLAST Open Porto 2026?

Natus Vincere eliminated paiN 2-0 in the Group A lower bracket, winning Nuke 13-9 and Mirage 13-11.

How big was paiN’s lead on Mirage?

paiN led 10-2 at halftime before NAVI won 11 of the following 12 rounds to complete the comeback.

Why is biguzera concerned about paiN?

He believes the team’s problems extend beyond recent results and include declining trust, inconsistent communication and poor decision-making inside matches.

What does paiN play next?

paiN are scheduled to compete in the IEM Beijing 2026 Closed Qualifier from September 2-4, where two places at the main event are available.