The South American Dota scene is no longer a dark horse, it’s a galloping titan. And leading the charge at the Austin Major 2025 is none other than paiN Gaming, the Brazilian powerhouse making serious noise on the global stage.
While the region has been steadily climbing the competitive ladder over the last few years, paiN’s latest run proves that South America isn’t just here to compete, it’s here to win. According to eTrueSports, coming into the Austin Major, paiN Gaming wasn’t exactly a favorite in the eyes of the global Dota community.
Sure, they had put up solid performances in regional qualifiers and international showings throughout the DPC season, but many still doubted their ability to go toe-to-toe with the likes of Team Spirit, Gaimin Gladiators, and the revitalized NAVI. Those doubts evaporated quickly.
From the group stages onward, paiN Gaming brought a level of aggression, composure, and execution that turned heads. Their laning phase was consistently sharp, with carry player hFn stepping up in a massive way, farming efficiently, rotating early, and closing games with clinical precision.
Midlaner 4nalog played out of his mind, outclassing more experienced opponents with bold picks like Ember Spirit and Templar Assassin, proving once again that mechanical skill in South America is world-class.
But the real difference-maker was in their team cohesion. paiN’s synergy in teamfights and map movement looked like the product of a squad that had been grinding hard in the shadows.
Whether it was pulling off five-man smokes with pixel-perfect timing or coordinating long-range disables to catch split-pushers off-guard, they played like a unit that believed in every call. That trust paid off, especially in high-stakes series against bigger organizations.
In one of the most talked-about matches of the Major so far, paiN Gaming took down Eastern Europe’s favorite BetBoom Team in a 2–1 thriller. Game 3 was an all-out slugfest, back-and-forth kills, buybacks on cooldown, base races that came down to single creeps, and paiN didn’t flinch.
They closed it out with a perfectly orchestrated Roshan fight that swung the net worth and morale completely in their favor.
What makes this run so important isn’t just the gameplay, it’s the narrative. For years, South American Dota was seen as inconsistent, scrappy, and underfunded. But that script is being flipped in real time.
In the past two seasons, we’ve seen SA teams make deeper runs, land bigger sponsors, and develop fanbases well beyond their home countries. paiN Gaming, with its mix of homegrown veterans and rising talent, embodies that evolution. They’re not a fluke, they’re a force.
As the Austin Major barrels toward its final stages, paiN Gaming finds itself in striking distance of the top four, an achievement that would all but lock their direct invite to The International 2025. But even if they fall short of the title, the message has been sent loud and clear: ignore South America at your own risk.
paiN Gaming’s surge is more than a storyline, it’s a signal. The global hierarchy of Dota is shifting, and the boys from Brazil are leading the charge.