MUTiRiS: "Today was just one win; we're happy, but we need to keep our feet on the ground"

The Portuguese captain spoke with HLTV after SAW moved past The MongolZ in Cologne.

SAW got their IEM Cologne Play-In campaign off to a flying start as they moved past world No.11 The MongolZ in a three-map affair. The Portuguese team took the lead in the series with an overtime Anubis win and bounced back from an Ancient beating with a blowout victory on Dust2.

The victory comes as a big source of relief for SAW, whose slow start in ESL Pro League 19 proved costly. Then, at the BLAST Premier Spring Final, they were defeated by FaZe and Astralis without picking up a single map.

After the match against The MongolZ, Christopher "⁠MUTiRiS⁠" Fernandes sat down with HLTV to dissect the opening match and discuss the team's fluctuating form and the goals for Cologne and beyond.

You've just beaten The MongolZ, one of the big favorites to make it to the group stage. What are you feeling?

It's a very good feeling. In this sort of tournament, it has been hard for us to impose our game and win right off the bat. When we analyzed MongolZ, we saw that they are a very aggressive team. I think that, tactically, they are a very simple team, but they're very good in that sense.

We were able to figure out more or less what they could do, and we knew we'd have to be on point because they have good aim. I think we came into this tournament with a very good mentality, and I think BERRY has been helping us a lot with that. I am very happy because we've finally started a tournament really well.

The MongolZ were the second-highest seed coming into the Play-In. What was the key to your victory?

We've been practicing really well. We feel that every day we learn something new. Basically, we feel that, in these events, sometimes things aren't working out because something isn't clicking. This is a big victory, The MongolZ are perhaps the tier-two team that is the closest to tier-one. Beating a team like this shows that we're working well, and I can't not be happy.

You had some great T sides in this series, on Anubis and Dust2. Is that something you have been working on?

Yes, of course. I mean, our T sides have always been good. We have been working a lot on our CT sides because we have struggled on them sometimes and things might not be working, but I think believing is key. Sometimes we'd get frustrated or things wouldn't work out and we'd stop believing halfway through games. Now, we have a clear head, which I think has been very good.

What was the preparation for this event like? Did you bootcamp?

Yes, we had a bootcamp, and it was slightly different than usual because we had some official matches. So, we wanted people to get out of their comfort zone and play matches away from home. We knew we were our biggest enemies, so we had to play with a lot of confidence, and that's what happened.

What has it been like to work with BERRY? I watched your pre-match interview, and you said that you still had some things to work on regarding communication.

BERRY's forte is in-game stuff, so of course it would be perfect for the coach to understand everything we say to fix some things. But we are very happy, because Counter-Strike is a universal language, and he has been helping us a lot in that sense. For us, it has been great. As I've said before, he has a completely different background.

We had some bad habits from previous years, and he has been helping us with that. Not everything is perfect, but I am extremely happy because he is a simple coach who goes straight to the problems. Oftentimes, we overcomplicate some small things and he makes them very simple. It has been very good to work with someone like BERRY.

You had a very strong start to the year that culminated in your qualification for the Major and the BLAST Finals, but your form has fluctuated in recent months. Why do you think this has been happening, and do you think this can be a turning point for your team?

I think so, but it's very hard to get to the level of tier-one teams. We are battling to be a tier-two team and trying to get closer to tier-one, and we have to know that, sometimes, it is hard to improve or get to that level. But hard work has always characterized our team. BERRY has helped us with that because he is someone with more experience. So I think that is our goal, to try to be more consistent on LAN and to believe in ourselves more. Our scrims are really good, we're constantly scrimming against the best in the world, we know what we can do, and what we need to do is to come to these tournaments and continue the work we do at home.

BERRY said in your podcast that he believed the team could make it to the group stage. Do you think the same way? What are your expectations?

Yes, I think that as a team we've set a goal, which is to get through to the next stage. We're not afraid to say that, because if we work every day, this is what it's all about. I always say that it's good to get to a big tournament and gain experience, but there has to be a tournament where we get there and really show our level. Today was just one win. We're happy but we need to keep our feet on the ground. We have the level to beat the best, but sometimes it's not possible or we're not playing so well and it doesn't happen. We're happy because maybe most people thought we couldn't win and we proved we're here to battle with the best.

Date	Matches
IEM Cologne 2024 Play-in
08/08/2024	SAW 13:30 BIG	Match

Last night, it was revealed that you'll be invited to the closed qualifier for the RMR. What are your expectations for the rest of the year? Is making the Shanghai Major your goal?

Yes, I believe that's always SAW's goal. We were close to qualifying for Majors so many times [before Copenhagen] that it started to get tough. We've done it once, and now we want to go for it a second time. So that is clearly the goal. But, as I've said, it depends on our work and our form when the time comes. I hope we will be at the Major.

You are now going up against BIG, a team you haven't faced in a year. Do you think it's possible to beat them and reach the next stage with a 2-0 record?

BIG are always a very tough team to face. But I think we have to sit down, come up with a good plan and see which maps we're going to play. Basically, it will have to be the same as for this match, where we played with a lot of confidence. We can't just win tactically, we have to be good individually. We're going to go all out on them and we know it's going to be a tough match.