Namiru on the midlaner legacy at paiN: "I also want to create my own history here"

promoted Daniel “” Lisboa to its main roster for the final match of the CBLOL 2026 regular season. The midlaner made his Brazilian Tier 1 debut against on Sunday, August 30, marking his first experience playing on stage in front of a live audience and resulting in a 1-2 defeat.

In an exclusive interview with Sheep Esports, Namiru discussed the anxiety he felt before his debut, the process that led to his promotion and his adaptation to the main roster. The player also talked about the responsibility of taking over a position that has previously been held by major names in the organization’s history.

Daniel “Namiru” Lisboa: “I’m feeling really excited. Even before the game, I was feeling confident and excited to play. I went about three days without sleeping because I was anxious to finally play here. It was my first experience playing on stage. I had never played on stage anywhere before, so it was really my debut in a place with a live audience. Now, after the game, there’s that bitter feeling that we could have won. We reached the Nexus and didn’t get the GG. But I still have the same mindset. I’m still really excited to play CBLOL. Now we’re going to have the playoffs, and I want to keep practicing and maintain that.

Namiru: We had already had some conversations for a while. Whether we like it or not, there were always rumors outside the organization like “Namiru is going to get promoted”, but I was always focused on playing Academy with my team. I wasn’t thinking about CBLOL. I was worried about performing where I was and helping everyone. But from the moment I found out I was going to play CBLOL, I was really excited. The news kind of came out of nowhere. I found out and came back to São Paulo because I had gone to see my family for a bit. When I got there, the Academy coach, Paivaa (Vitor Augusto), was watching the practices, so he helped me a lot as well. It gave me that feeling of comfort alongside the people who were already there, because I was already somewhat used to the CBLOL guys. I always talked to everyone and was always friends with them.

Namiru: The coaching staff always analyzed the Academy, even when Xero (Sin Hyeok) was still there. Like I said, I’m very used to the CBLOL staff, so I always talked to Xero and Sarkis (Matheus Guimarães). I already talked to (Marcos Santos) and (Kim Joon-cheol), and I always interacted with everyone. I never just let myself play and think, “If they come, great, if they don’t, whatever”. Everyone has their own team, so everyone works every day. You can’t be there all the time. If we want help, we also have to go after them. As for my experience with them, it’s been really good so far. Our team is very calm and our group is really good. I arrived and was welcomed very quickly. Everyone is very chill. So I think my adaptation will be good. I haven’t had that much time with them yet, but I believe that over the next few weeks our practices will already be better and we’ll be able to perform.

Namiru: I have a lot of responsibility in that sense, because the three Brazilian midlaners at paiN were very important players for the scene and for the organization. I also think that responsibility isn’t something I need to feel too much or let weigh on my mind. It’s something I’m very happy to have because it’s part of the organization’s history. I have a lot of respect for their history. Like I’ve said, I was inspired by the three of them. All three are inspirations here in Brazil. They’re great midlaners, or they were. I also want to create my own story here. Today was my debut. It was my first series playing, and I hope I can show even better performances in the next games, days and weeks.

Namiru: Yes, I do. I think that even for Brazil itself, I don’t necessarily want to limit myself here. I want to be a good midlaner and help make the scene return to what it used to be and really grow, because it was really cool. There was a lot of interaction, and we had great idols. Even though I feel that responsibility, it’s not something I think I need to let weigh on me. I don’t want to have that in my mind, thinking, “If I don’t perform, it’s over”, I don’t think that’s how it works. But it exists, and I’m going to act accordingly.

Namiru: I believe so. I’ve said this before, but I think being ready to play CBLOL itself is somewhat relative. It’s very much about your mentality, because you can be performing in Academy, but if you play CBLOL and don’t have the mindset to adapt to the environment, there’s a good chance you won’t be able to perform. That’s why I was saying that it’s very easy to play with the team I have because the group is very calm. My adaptation in that sense is much easier. I think I already had that mindset of, “If I get promoted, I’m ready to play”. I also know that we don’t choose the opportunity. It’s simply something that comes up and we have to seize it. So, I’m at the point where I have to seize this opportunity and make it work.

Namiru: I think, mainly, my map play. I need to improve my mindset about the things I should really be focusing on. A simple example is choosing between a wave or playing Scuttle with my team. It should be obvious that I’m going to play Scuttle. But because of previous habits, sometimes I would prioritize my wave. That matters. It can be a small decision, like the Scuttle example, but eventually it can become something big. Those are the micro map decisions that I think I’m struggling with, and they’re going to matter a lot for me to improve in Tier 1. I also think my laning can improve a lot. Today I started playing against a strong mid laner, Mireu (Jeong Jo-bin). In my mind, the two best are Mireu and Feisty (Jeong Seong-hoon). I managed to play well against Mireu, but I’m still not satisfied. I think there’s a lot of room for improvement.

Namiru: My arrival was very recent. We only practiced for two days this week. Like I’ve said before, this adaptation period we’re going to have during this week of practice will be very important because I came in wanting to bring a new atmosphere to the team, like, “We’re confident, let’s go for it”. I think you could see a little bit of that in this series. I think I even went too far with some decisions because I was very confident and wanted to make plays. I think next week of practice will be really good, and I want to remain confident so that when the playoffs arrive, we can have a good team performance and show it on stage.”