Dr Michelle Pain is a Christ-centred sport & esports psychologist working with pro / elite teams and players world-wide, co-founder of @PokketCoach; 🌈 ally.

Melbourne, Australia
Joined November 2010
Replying to @PokketCoach
@PokketCoach just got a huge update overnight 🎉 For those of you who’ve ever experienced me talking to you 1:1: or with your team, where I teach you new skills, or work with you to fix a problem, talking with Pokket now acts and sounds exactly like it would if you were talking to me (but for a fraction of the cost).
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Meet the 32 teams helping shape the future of VALORANT Esports. Learn more about our 2027 partners, how they were selected, and what's changing for next season.
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Michelle Pain, PhD retweeted
"Which brands are high quality, so I can look for them in thrift stores?" I will give you three answers to this: a bad answer, a good answer, and an answer that tries to make compromises given reality. 🧵
Replying to @dieworkwear
Mr menswear I know you aren’t into this but I would love a guide to what brands of clothing are high quality, so I know what to look for on thrift store shelves. I’ve almost been fooled before.
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Michelle Pain, PhD retweeted
We’re recruiting a new Director of Esports Content Services in EMEA. This is a key leadership role that will oversee the production of all of our tournaments in the region, leading teams across events, broadcast, content and tech. riotgames.com/en/work-with-u…
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Michelle Pain, PhD retweeted
i don't talk about it much here but aside from gaming, i have a huge passion for software. love building, whether that's on the job or in my own time. full portfolio of my work and a resume is on my website (in replies), if you're working on something cool then let's talk! :)
Huge shout out to Luther for helping me make this feature possible. We've been trying to find unique ways to get more of the casual community behind OCE CS; and I think we've found it. The uptake has been huge so far. Daily activity up 130% since launch and we didn't even really tell anyone about it. We've launched a unique daily fantasy system utilising digital player cards with 4 different levels of rarity using data collected over the past 3 years since having the site live to build out an amazing experience. @its2sBs has played a pivotal role in getting this rolled out in the span of ~2 months. We love your feedback, both good and bad, yes there are bugs, we are still actively working on it and adding features and bug fixes. We love that you love it. 🥰
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Michelle Pain, PhD retweeted
I’ve seen a lot of people worried about the new VCT 2027 format, but I genuinely think this could be one of the best changes Riot has made, especially for organizations that know how to adapt. First of all, something I’ve believed for a long time: VALORANT will never be CS. VALORANT is a game of moments. The meta changes, the map pool changes, agents get buffed or nerfed, and a team that looks unstoppable today might not even be competitive three months from now. Of course, some organizations will be more successful than others, but I don't believe we're going to see the same kind of long-term dominance that we've seen in CS. Things move too quickly in VALORANT. And that's exactly why I like this format so much. An organization doesn't necessarily need the five most expensive players in the region. It needs the RIGHT five players at the RIGHT time. If you have good scouting, understand the current meta, build a roster with the right chemistry, and prepare properly for those 2–3 months of competition, you can achieve something huge without spending millions. Will partnered organizations have an advantage? ABSOLUTELY. They have financial security, better infrastructure, established systems, and much less risk. But having those advantages doesn't automatically make you the better team on the server. And for the first time, smaller organizations have a much more direct opportunity to compete at the highest level and potentially generate serious revenue from competitive success. Just think about what $100K could mean for a smaller organization in Brazil or LATAM. That's not just prize money. That's potentially months of operations, salaries, infrastructure, and an opportunity to attract sponsors who wouldn't have considered investing in that project before. But there's another side to this that I think a lot of players aren't ready for. The market is going to change, and players will need to change with it. Organizations are going to be much more careful with their investments. You can't expect every team to commit to expensive, year-long contracts when their entire competitive season could depend on a relatively short qualification window. I think we'll start seeing shorter contracts, more performance-based incentives, and organizations building rosters around specific competitive windows. And players will need to understand that. In CS, you can find incredibly talented players who spend one or even two years without an organization. Not because they're bad, but because the market simply doesn't have room for everyone. I genuinely believe we're going to see more of that in VALORANT. There are going to be very good players without teams, and some will have to reconsider their salary expectations or the type of projects they're willing to join. I'm not saying players should accept terrible contracts or play for free. Organizations need to take care of their players, too. But both sides need to understand the financial reality of this new ecosystem. The players who recognize opportunities early, stay flexible, and understand that sometimes joining the right project is worth more than chasing the highest salary will have a huge advantage. And honestly, I think this is going to make good management much more valuable. Scouting, coaching, roster construction, financial planning, and understanding the meta will matter more than ever. I also think people are underestimating how exciting this could be for the viewers. More meaningful matches, new organizations, unexpected runs, young players getting opportunities, and teams going from complete unknowns to competing against the biggest names in the world. That's the kind of storyline esports needs. My biggest concern is still the smaller regions. Riot needs to make sure the calendar, qualification process, payments, and visa timelines actually work. Giving everyone a chance to compete means very little if only the wealthiest organizations can afford to take that chance. And we shouldn't pretend the transition is going to be easy. Some organizations will leave, some players will struggle to find teams, and plenty of projects will fail. But I don't think protecting the same organizations and rosters forever is the answer either. For me, the biggest opportunity here is that being good at building a team could finally become just as important as being able to afford one. Of course, money will always matter. But I want to see a VALORANT ecosystem where a smaller organization can make five smart signings, build something special, qualify for an international event, and completely change its future in a matter of months. As someone involved in running an organization, I know how risky that can be. But I also know how much opportunity there is for teams willing to work smarter and adapt faster than everyone else. 2027 won't be perfect, and not everyone is going to benefit from it. But I genuinely believe the organizations and players who understand where the scene is heading, instead of trying to hold on to how things used to work, are going to be the biggest winners. I'm excited about it. I think VALORANT needed something like this.
M80 Owner Marco says it costs 500K a Year to pay for their VALORANT team He also said that in the 2027 VCT Circuit, if they don’t make all 3 Americas cups and at least one Masters, they won’t BREAK EVEN Yikes..
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Michelle Pain, PhD retweeted
It's okay if you don't win
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Michelle Pain, PhD retweeted
Replying to @Tracy_Parkes
I want players that are still chasing the “pro dream” to understand the reality of being in t2 or even most of t1/t1.5. The future for most of t2 will be that you need a full time job or school while playing. Many sports already work this way and we need to normalize it.
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Michelle Pain, PhD retweeted
Our vct application was a 140 page dissertation on the map Icebox
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Michelle Pain, PhD retweeted
10 years in esports and 2026 Valorant Champs one was definitely the hardest to top. Definitely will cherish the memory forever. Honestly, there's so much I'm personally grateful for, but I especially want to thank the 100T team and management for putting their trust in me and giving it their all. I came in with the goal to make everyone involved feel like this is one of the greatest experiences internationals in their diaries. I hope I somehow achieved that. Until next time 100T Val! 🩷
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Michelle Pain, PhD retweeted
no team managers were harmed in the making of this video
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Farewell Shanghai ❤️
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Michelle Pain, PhD retweeted
Highest Rated Players of Champions Shanghai 🇨🇳 2022 aspas Less 🤝 2026 lukxo erde
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My 73-year-old therapist gave me 7 rules for managing adult ADHD. She said, “Your biggest struggle isn't always your ADHD. Sometimes, it's the shame you've built around how your brain works.” Then she wrote down these 7 rules: 1//9
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Michelle Pain, PhD retweeted
High agency vs depressed thought life - @hubermanlab
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Michelle Pain, PhD retweeted
Introducing @regroupdgg Every map, round, and opponent, broken down for you. Less scrubbing, more analysis. Scout yourself, scout your opponents, and review it together as a team.
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Michelle Pain, PhD retweeted
Every map, round, and opponent, broken down for you. Less scrubbing, more analysis. Scout yourself, scout your opponents, and review it together as a team.
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Michelle Pain, PhD retweeted
Ray Dalio on the advice he gives his grandkids. @RayDalio
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Michelle Pain, PhD retweeted
EWC Champs/Split 2 Champs/3rd place at Champs ✌️ It’s who’s beside that matters just as much as the moments you share… grateful to share it with this team. Not every story ends the way you want it to but the journey is worth the sacrifice. Congrats again! @LOUDgg - Marti ♥️🖤
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Michelle Pain, PhD retweeted
Many people start the gym for physical health. But then notice the biggest gains are actually for mental health.
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Michelle Pain, PhD retweeted
Just found out about recency bias. Maybe the most important bias ever
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