paiN Gaming is Leaving Dota 2 Again

Despite their effort in coming back to Dota 2, ultimately paiN Gaming did not perform as expected and recently dismissed their roster. According to their announcement tweet, the team lacked sustainability in Dota 2.

They thanked the dedication of the roster and the people working backstage, as well as the dedication of the fans, and left the door open to a possible return to Dota in the future, but with no explicit plans.

paiN Gaming: A Good Opportunity

The return of paiN Gaming to professional Dota 2 happened due to a great opportunity, as Perú Rejects displayed an impressive performance in the qualifiers in early 2026.

Parker's stack managed to secure slots for both ESL events at a time when Heroic was going through a rough patch. This was the perfect opportunity for an organization to fill the gap, and paiN Gaming took it.

The announcement was made on February 2, and a couple of weeks later, they would be playing in DreamLeague Season 28. This would be their debut as paiN Gaming, but things did not go as planned.

Parker Does It Again

After a couple of matches in the DreamLeague Season 28 Group Stage, on February 17, David "Parker" Nicho Flores did what he is known for once again. He tilted, blamed his team, and got benched by paiN Gaming.

The result was a last-minute replacement with Aliaksei "Smiling Knight" Svirydau and an eventual permanent replacement by Máximo "Wits" Orozco Alza.

As a result of the replacement of a core player, paiN Gaming placed 13th in DreamLeague Season 28. Despite their championship in the smaller CCT Season 2 Series 8, they failed to perform once again at ESL One in Birmingham.

After being eliminated in the Group Stage and finishing in 12th place at ESL One, there were no remaining Tier 1 tournaments to compete in and paiN Gaming decided to let go of their roster during the DreamLeague Season 29 Closed Qualifiers.

A New South American Challengers

While paiN Gaming is pulling out of Dota 2, we have recently seen the resurgence of old names. Hokori has put together a roster with well-known players from Peru and Brazil to compete in the DreamLeague 29 Regionals.

At the same time, we see other names such as Estar Backs trying their luck with a fully Peruvian roster, including players such as SLATEM and payk.

So far, Heroic has made a run through the Upper Bracket of the DreamLeague 29 Regionals and will face former paiN Gaming in the Finals soon after the publication of this article.

South America loses an old friend and opens the way for the return of known names for a shot at a DreamLeague slot. Things might get confusing if South America Rejects win, but so far, it is likely that Heroic will prevail and qualify for DreamLeague.

Closing Thoughts

South American Dota 2 is reorganizing after paiN Gaming dropped their roster, while other known names return to compete for a slot in DreamLeague Season 29.

The roster will probably retain their EPT points, but this is a good opportunity for Heroic to regain their dominance in the last chance before the Esports World Cup 2026.

So far, the only team in the Americas qualifying for the EWC is GamerLegion with 1112 points. South America Rejects have 462 points, and Heroic has only 300 points after missing both tournaments in the first quarter.

If you want to stay informed on roster changes, tournament coverage, and the ESL Pro Tour, check the news section on the Strafe website!

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Featured Image Source: Twitter (@paiNGamingBR)