New Phantom upset paiN to finish day one at Stake Ranked

New Phantom defeated paiN 2-1 to close day one of Stake Ranked Episode 3 in Barcelona on July 15, 2026. The series went three maps and finished on Nuke, where Phantom won 10 of 12 rounds as Terrorists to take the decider.

Danish AWPer Nico ‘nicoodoz’ Tamjidi recorded 14 kills and a +8.23% round swing on the final map. Phantom made their event debut with Tamjidi and Jan ‘cej0t’ Dyl in the lineup. The two teams split the opening maps before Phantom secured the series with the 10-2 Terrorist score on Nuke.

The loss sends paiN to the lower bracket, where they will face 3DMAX in an elimination match on Thursday, July 16 at 12:30 local time. The Brazilian roster entered the Barcelona event as the highest-ranked team and had earlier failed to qualify for BLAST Open Porto after a loss in the South American qualifier.

Other results from day one included HEROIC edging 3DMAX 2-1. Recent additions Antonio ‘MartinezSa’ Martinez and Ludvig ‘Brollan’ Brolin contributed to HEROIC wins on Inferno and Nuke while 3DMAX took Cache. Ninjas in Pyjamas beat K27 in two maps with Roman ‘n0te’ Hamze leading the effort. Gentle Mates defeated Wildcard in two maps while fielding Joey ‘CRUC1AL’ Steusel as a stand-in.

Play continues on Thursday with K27 meeting Wildcard at 10:00, 3DMAX facing paiN in the lower-bracket survival match at 12:30, Ninjas in Pyjamas taking on Gentle Mates at 15:00, and HEROIC playing Phantom in the upper-bracket semi-final at 17:30. Stake Ranked Episode 3 is being held in Barcelona and features a mix of established teams and new lineups.