Welcome to EGamersWorld.
Back to the Counter-Strike 2 competitive scene, where the PGL Cluj-Napoca 2025 is in full swing. There is preparing for the Long Cogner play-offs stage of the tournament, where 8 teams will fight for the main cash prize of $400,000.
Among the contenders for such a solid prize are paiN and MOUZ. The teams will open the play-offs with a face-to-face Bo3 match on 21 February at 09:00 CET.
Let's find out who of the paiN - MOUZ pair will be stronger and will qualify for the next round of play-offs. By the way, the grid is Single-Elimination, there will be no second chances.
Let's go.
MOUZ form
Let's open the MOUZ vs paiN Gaming match with an analysis of MOUZ form. In this match they play as favourites with odds to win at around 1.4.
- MOUZ lineup: torzsi, xertioN, Jimpphat, Brollan, Spinx....
IEM Cologne 2023 is a test of the new line-up of the "mice". After Elisa Spring, siuhy, who used to play for GamerLegion, and Jimpphat, a youth player from MOUZ Nxt, joined the squad.
In the debut match, the revamped MOUZ roster played against The MongolZ. An easy outing on paper ended in a nervous Bo1 on the dopes, followed by a 22-19 win for MOUZ on Nuke.
Already in the match to qualify for the group stage MOUZ were much more confident. They beat NiP 2-0 (16-12 Nuke and 16-7 Inferno) without any problems.
The first match of the group stage was not a big challenge for MOUZ either. NaVi lost at Ancient with a score of 16-9 and Overpass with a score of 16-12.
After beating NaVi, MOUZ failed to gain a foothold and they lost the next two series. As a result, the "mice" at IEM Cologne 2023 took the top 12.
Before ESL Pro League Season 18, the team played at the local championship Thunderpick World Championship 2023: European Series #1. They managed to win, defeating BIG 2-0 in the grand finals.
In their debut match at ESL Pro League Season 18, MOUZ faced mibr. Being the favourites, MOUZ failed to defeat the Brazilians and unexpectedly ended up in the bottom of Group B.
The group stage was a mixed bag for MOUZ, but still more successful than not. An unexpected defeat in the top set cheered MOUZ up and they effortlessly went over the heads of their opponents, Heroic among them, at the bottom of the group stage table. Having not lost a single game in the lower grid, MOUZ made it here.
In the first round of the ESL Pro League Season 18 play-offs, MOUZ seemed to be off the chain. The Brazilians from FURIA were literally stomped, and the "mice" celebrated an easy 2-0 victory, giving their opponents a total of 9 rounds per game.
In the match before that, MOUZ met another grandee of the European scene - FaZe Clan. "Mice" on a spree swept through the match and closed the series with a score of 2-0.
In the match for the exit here MOUZ met G2 Esports. They became another trophy in the Mouse's piggy bank at ESL Pro League S18.
MOUZ went on to defeat ENCE (2-1) and NaVi in the EPL S18 Grand Final with a resounding 3-0 score. Prior to the Thunderpick World Championship 2023, MOUZ played at IEM Sydney 2023, where they again faced FaZe. This time FaZe retaliated for the upset defeat and knocked MOUZ out at the Top 4 stage.
Thunderpick World Championship 2023 MOUZ ended prematurely. They lost in the first round of play-offs to FaZe, who later became the tournament champions.
Later was the CS Asia Championship 2023, where MOUZ performed well. They reached the grand finals, but there they lost to FaZe Clan with a score of 0-2.
At Elisa Masters Espoo 2023 MOUZ started their performance with a rather unexpected defeat. They defeated Apeks 16-19 in the first round of the group stage. Next up was a match with CoL for life at the event, which the "mice" won with a one-card deficit. However, they couldn't stay in the championship race for long: MOUZ crashed out at the Top 6 stage.
After that, it was BLAST Premier: World Final 2023, where the "mice" took TOP-4. This was the last tournament of the 2023 season. They started the 2024 season with a top-7 finish at PGL Major Copenhagen 2024: European Qualifier B. Next was IEM Katowice 2024, where the "mice" took TOP-4.
At PGL Major CS2 Copenhagen 2024, they made their way from TOP-1-2 to European RMR B. At the tournament itself, Mice started off with a win over Ecstatic and then beat Eternal Fire, which gave them a 2-0 lead.
Next up was IEM China 2024, where MOUZ continued to "dial it up". This time the team managed to reach the grand final, but FaZe were stronger.
MOUZ were very confident in the play-offs of ESL Pro League Season 19. They also confidently swept through the play-offs championship and won the tournament by shutting out Vitality 3-0 in the grand finals.
MOUZ attended IEM Dallas 2024 where they finished in the top 12, which is a very difficult result for a team of MOUZ's calibre.
Esports World Cup 2024 MOUZ started with a match against Sashi Esports, where they won 2-1, which again is not very good. After making it to the play-offs they defeated FURIA Esports with a score of 2-1. The Esports World Cup 2024 MOUZ finished in the top 4, Ledgeiv beating NaVi in the grand final.
IEM Cologne 2024 Long Competed straight from the group stage, where in the first match they played against Falcons and won 2-1. And in the play-offs match they beat CoL even more confidently with a 2-0 win. In the first round of play-offs "mice" very confidently beat G2 Esports with a score of 2-0, but then lost dry to NaVi, taking the final TOP-4.
ESL Pro League Season 20 started with a shaky 2-1 win over Rooster. MOUZ's problems at EPL S20 came to light in the following matches, when MOUZ lost to Imperial and CoL 0-2 in succession. Fnatic won the last chance net and therefore lost to CoL 0-2, leaving ESL Pro League Season 20 without making it to the play-offs.
At IEM Rio 2024 MOUZ played in Group A. MOUZ made it to the play-offs from the bottom of the group after beating CoL and FaZe Clan. In the play-offs they beat Vitality (2-1) and FURIA (2-0). They failed to get the victory: in the grand final they lost to NaVi with the score 1-3. Later MOUZ played at BLAST Premier: World Final 2024, where they were ranked Top 6.
They got to the Elimination Stage of PW Shanghai Major 2024 thanks to their successful play at European RMR A, where they took TOP-1-2. Perfect World Shanghai Major 2024 started with a victory over paiN Gaming. Later they lost to MongolZ and FaZe, but defeated 3DMax. In the match for life at the tournament, they outplayed MIBR. MOUZ opened the playoffs of Perfect World Shanghai Major 2024 with a match against MongolZ, where they won 2-0, though not without problems. In the next match MOUZ played against Spirit, where Ledge won 0-2.
The start of the 2025 season was very hard for the "mice". The team played a very mediocre BLAST Bounty Spring 2025: Closed Qualifier, finishing in the top 32 and similarly poorly in IEM Katowice 2025, failing to make it out of the group stage and finishing in 16th place.
The group stage of PGL Cluj-Napoca 2025 was a bitterly contested: MOUZ Long Sogpeg started with victories over BIG and 3DMax, but then lost to Falcons and FaZe. In the decisive match they defeated Vp, which gave them passage to the main stage.
MOUZ Mappul
MOUZ's favourite map remains Inferno. The Mice have played it three times in the last 3 months and won all their games there. Nuke is also doing well, with MOUZ winning 3 out of 4 Nuke games played.
Among the good options are Vertigo and Ancient, where MOUZ have 2 wins in 3 games each.
The most undesirable map is Mirage. MOUZ have played it 6 times, but have only won once.
Form paiN
We continue the analysis of the match paiN - MOUZ with the analysis of paiN game form. In this match the Brazilian club plays as an outsider with odds to win around 2.3.
The club paiN Gaming in 2024 has played a lot of tournaments, among which there were results. However, no special results were achieved.
By far the most significant was PGL Major Copenhagen 2024, where paiN managed to show character and a good game. They were just enough for the top 9-11, but even that is a good result.
Where paiN shine is on the home stage. The club has essentially dominated the Latin American scene, consistently winning B-tier tournaments. Such was the case at RES Latin American Series #4, Global Esports Tour Rio de Janeiro 2024, where they earned $100,000 for the win.
- The lineup of paiN Gaming: biguzera, lux, kauez, nqz, snow.
Landmark results include a pass at IEM Cologne 2024. Passed through home qualifications.
IEM Cologne 2024 paiN Gaming started with a loss in the match against Liquid (0-2). Further, already in the lower grid, the team won against compatriots from Imperial (2-1). At the end of IEM Cologne 2024 the team took the top 8.
Later, paiN Gaming played at BLAST Premier: Fall Showdown 2024, where they finished at the already "classic" for themselves TOP-8.
Before playing at PW Shanghai Major 2024, paiN Gaming visited Intel Extreme Masters Rio 2024, where they finished in TOP-16, and ESL Challenger Katowice 2024, where they finished in TOP-4. The team made it directly to PW Shanghai Major 2024 thanks to a 3-1 score at American RMR.
At PW Shanghai Major 2024: Opening Stage paiN started their journey with a win over Imperial. Then they lost to GamerLegion, but then beat C9 and FlyQuest. Elimination Stage opened with a loss to MOUZ, followed by Ledgeili and 3DMax. In the match for life at Perfect World Shanghai Major 2024, paiN defeated BIG.
At the main stage of PW Shanghai Major 2024, paiN won 1-3, thus finishing in the top 14.
paiN opened the 2025 season with an appearance at BLAST Bounty Season 1. They managed to overcome qualification by beating GamerLegion and FaZe. In the play-offs of the tournament they met NaVi, where they were close to victory, but Ledgeili with the score 1-2, thus taking the top 6.
paiN visited IEM Katowice 2025, where they played at their level, i.e. top-20. At PGL Cluj-Napoca 2025 things went much better: paiN played the group stage of the tournament with a score of 3-1, defeating Astralis, Falcons and Vp, and lost only to MongolZ, and that in a fight.
Map paiN Gaming
The top 1 map paiN gaming has had in the last 3 months is Mirage. L4O has a mind-blowing winrate of 92% with 13 games played.
They also played on Inferno, where they won 5 matches out of 7 games. In plus winrate and Nuke, where with 5 matches and 3 wins.
The most not favoured card for paiN Gaming will be Vertigo. There they have 6 cards and only 1 win.
History of head-to-head meetings paiN - MOUZ
Previously the teams played each other three times during the 2024 season. All matches ended with MOUZ winning.
Predicted result of paiN vs MOUZ at PGL Cluj-Napoca 2025
I don't expect an easy outing for MOUZ in this match. "The Mice" looked rather faded during the group stage and made a lot of mistakes that seemed to be out of character for them. At the same time, paiN showed good Counter-Strike, which gives them a chance against a more experienced and title contender. In general, I bet on the total +2.5.
Bottom line: total +2.5.
