SAW finalize ESL Challenger Atlanta team list

The Portuguese side will be the highest-ranked team in attendance at the American event.

MUTiRiS' men marched through the upper bracket to bag a spot in Atlanta

SAW have emerged as the winners of the ESL Challenger Atlanta Europe closed qualifier, besting Russian squad GUN5 2-0 in the final after previously beating them 2-1 in the qualifier's upper bracket final.

Date	Matches
ESL Challenger Atlanta 2024 Europe Closed Qualifier
29/08/2024	SAW Finished 2:0 GenOne	Match
29/08/2024	GamerLegion Finished 1:2 SAW	Match
30/08/2024	GUN5 Finished 1:2 SAW	Match
31/08/2024	SAW Finished 2:0 GUN5	Match

SAW's success in the closed qualifier builds upon a string of impressive results from the Portuguese squad in recent events. Most notably, Christopher "⁠MUTiRiS⁠" Fernandes' men reached the semi-finals of IEM Cologne, taking down heavyweights G2 and FaZe while also staying competitive versus Natus Vincere.

This stunning result at Cologne was immediately followed up by a confident run through Perfect World Shanghai Major Europe RMR Closed Qualifier B, where SAW claimed a 3-0 record in the Swiss stage and the second seed from the qualifier just behind Cloud9.

João "⁠story⁠" Vieira and Michel "⁠ewjerkz⁠" Pinto shined for SAW during their run through the Atlanta qualifier, posting 1.29 and 1.25 ratings, respectively, while only letting slip two of the ten maps their team played.

The Portuguese side won out while a number of other notable squads failed to stick the landing in the qualifier, namely Ninjas in Pyjamas, Aurora, and Sashi.

SAW and the rest of the ESL Challenger Atlanta participants will be headed to the United States in early October, as the event is set to run from October 4-6.

The team list for ESL Challenger Atlanta is now:

SAW
BIG
BetBoom
FlyQuest

M80
ODDIK
Wildcard
Rooster