The last Semi-Final game of the BLAST.tv Austin Major was one for history. While the match was mostly one-sided following a 13-game streak for Mongolz, their opponent, paiN Gaming, wasn’t out of it entirely on Anubis. While the series itself was something to behold, with both teams deying expectations. Regardless of who won, both Mongolz and paiN Gaming represented their regions and countries (Mongolia and Brazil, respectively) with immense pride.
Despite being eliminated, talking with the paiN’s members (all of whom took time to walk the pressline), you wouldn’t have known that the team had just suffered a 2-0 loss. In an after-match interview, João “Snow” Vinicius and Lucas “nqz” Soares expressed pride in their regions and countries, but also excitement to push back against expectations by making it to the semi-final. Both Snow and nqz weren’t satisfied with the outcome, clearly wishing to have represented their country in the Grand Final. But they were proud of how far they had come.
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Still, their pride in their achievements was what they brought to the press line. When one of our creator colleagues asked nqz why he was so composed after Monolz’s victory, he responded, “No one expected us to make it this far,” to which he added that he needed to show respect to the fans who were supporting them, making it to the Semi-Finals.
Nqz and Snow talk about the love of sport and representing South America at the BLAST.tv Austin Major.
And the fan support was heard, no matter the scoreline and no matter the statlines. Seated on Pai’s side of the arena, a group of Brazilian fans, wearing the colors of the Brazilian national team, played the drums, while a lone trumpeter in the floor section kept the party going in the center of the arena.
The excitement and the support was something you’d see for footballers. “I’ve been there as a fan, I used to watch everything. It’s unreal to know that I now have fans, have people supporting us, playing music for us,” nqz said about the people in the stands.
The love was felt by nqz and Snow when we asked them what it was like to represent their country and their region at the BLAST.tv Austin Major ” It feels amazing to represent a whole community, and a community that is really passionate about sports in general. Everyone in Brazil and in South America watched the FalleN Era, SK [Gaming] Era, and they really want us to be back in the spotlight, to win tournaments and to win trophies. We could have done more, and we had chances to do more. But after it all, I’m really proud, and it’s an honor to represent South America.”
A 2-0 loss didn’t change paiN Gaming’s pride for Brazil.
For Snow, at just 18 years old, he’s been playing since he was 12 years old, and for his first Major, he was thinking about when he was in the crowd, instead of the both. “It’s an amazing feeling to represent the big region, and Brazil,” Snow said. “I was one of the people in the crowd in 2022 [at the IEM Rio Major 2022], and now I’m playing. It’s an amazing feeling. Representing Brazil is my dream, and I think I have done it well. It was an incredible moment for me.”
As a parting question, I asked nqz and Snow what they advice they would offer to younger fans looking to turn pro in Counter-Strike. Snow responded, “Keep grinding and trust in yourself. Trusting in yourself is what matters because you can be at the top if you want.”
In the same vein, nqz highlighted the dedication and sacrifice it takes to make it to the top of the sport, “Dedicate yourself to doing the best that you can. You’re going to spend hours in [Counter-Strike] and you’re going to have to make sacrifices in your life to make it work, but eventually it will all pay off. The process is tough, but it’s worth it.”
The BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025 Playoffs took place at the Moody Center from June 19 – 22.
