THE INTERNATIONAL 2018 TEAM INTRODUCTIONS – PAIN GAMING

Pain Gaming is a Brazilian Esports Organization. They compete in many games like League of Legends, Overwatch and of course, Dota 2. It is only the second South American team that has ever qualified for a TI.

Pain Gaming’s current Dota 2 roster:

1. William “hfn” Medeiros
2. Aliwi “w33” Omar
3. Otavio “tavo” Gabriel
4. Danylo “Kingrd” Nascimento (Captain)
5. Heitor “Duster” Pereira

Since w33 joined the team in April 2018, Pain Gaming has got relatively good results. At ESL One Birmingham, they came 3^rd beating some of the best teams in the world like Team Liquid and Mineski.

They entered the South American Qualifiers for the China Dota 2 Supermajor and barely lost to Team Infamous. They lost by a single point, denying them a chance to play at the main event.

Pain Gaming qualified for TI8 through the South American Qualifiers, barely defeating SG e-sports with a 3-2 in the grand finals.

About the Squad:

Kingrd and tavo have been in the Dota scene since a long time. Both of them have been in more than 10 Brazilian teams each. They have also played together in many different iterations of Pain gaming, developing a strong bond of friendship between them. Both of them have been getting great results in the South American scene but like every Dota player, their dream was to win a TI. They might finally be able to make their dream come true this year, at TI8.

Hfn is also a veteran player from Brazil. He is known to be versatile, playing both Carry and Solo Mid for various Brazilian teams. He is a calm player, able to perform even under high pressure.

Pain Gaming’s position 5 player Duster is relatively new to the scene. He began his Dota career in 2016 and quickly managed to climb onto the top of the South American scene. Just 2 years into down the line, he managed to qualify for a TI. He is one of the youngest players to ever attend a TI.

After getting second place at TI6, w33 has been in various European teams, trying to find a proper 5-man stack for another chance of claiming the Aegis of Champions. Unfortunately, he did not get much success for a whole year. Unexpectedly, w33 joined Pain Gaming in April 2018, and qualified for TI8 with them. Originally a pub-star, w33 became the first player in the world to reach 8k MMR. Currently, he is considered one of the best Solo Mid players in the world.

South America’s Hope

Pain Gaming is definitely one of the underdogs at TI8. However, there is a chance that they might surprise everyone like they did at ESL One Birmingham. They are South America’s hope to cement themselves as one of the strongest regions in competitive Dota. I for one, always support the underdogs and I hope Pain Gaming does well at TI8.