paiN to bench piriajr, promote academy player Tatu

paiN plans to bench Guilherme ‘piriajr’ Barbosa and promote academy player Lucas ‘Tatu’ Santana as a short-term replacement, sources say. The change would be the club’s second roster alteration in as many weeks after Vinicius ‘vsm’ Moreira was removed from the starting lineup and academy player Rickson ‘Rkzinho’ Ribeiro Dias was elevated.

The roster adjustments follow a poor start to the season. paiN finished last at BLAST Open Porto and at Stake Ranked Episode 3 and recorded an early exit at the Esports World Cup.

Piriajr joined paiN in January from Bounty Hunters and would end a nine-month spell on the main roster if the benching is confirmed. He posted a 1.32 rating while competing regionally with his former team and averaged a 1.03 rating in international matches for paiN.

Lucas ‘Tatu’ Santana, 22, has been with paiN Academy for two years and is the longest-serving player on that squad. He has averaged a 1.07 rating this year with the academy side. Sources did not specify whether his promotion would be permanent or limited to upcoming events.

If the change is implemented, paiN’s likely active lineup would include Rodrigo ‘biguzera’ Bittencourt, João ‘snow’ Vinicius, Rafael ‘saffee’ Costa, Rickson ‘Rkzinho’ Ribeiro Dias and Lucas ‘Tatu’ Santana, with Henrique ‘rikz’ Waku as coach.

After BLAST Open Porto, Rodrigo ‘biguzera’ Bittencourt wrote that he felt ‘as a team we don’t trust each other anymore.’ The organization has not released an official statement confirming the benching or outlining further roster plans.

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