paiN Gaming have benched veteran rifler Vinicius "vsm" Moreira (27) and promoted 16-year-old Rickson "Rkzinho" Ribeiro Dias from the academy roster.
Reason for the change
After a run of poor tournament results, captain Rodrigo "biguzera" Bittencourt gave the blunt take: "I feel as a team we don't trust each other anymore."
About Rkzinho
- Full name: Rickson Ribeiro Dias
- Age: 16 (Brazil)
- HLTV Prospects #49
- 1.10 rating in 2026 at academy level
Updated paiN roster
- Rodrigo "biguzera" Bittencourt
- Guilherme "piriajr" Barbosa
- Rafael "saffee" Costa
- João "snow" Vinicius
- Rickson "Rkzinho" Ribeiro Dias (new)
- Head coach: Henrique "rikz" Waku
- New addition to coaching staff: Pedro "beto" Umberto (formerly Case, RED Canids, KRÜ)
Debut
The new lineup debuts at the PGL Masters Bucharest 2026 South America Closed Qualifier on September 6.
Source: HLTV.org — /news/45448/pain-bench-vsm-promote-rkzinho-from-academy
