SAW complete fairytale run to BT Arena in roman and Shr's final event with the team

The Portuguese team have gone from 0-2 to 3-2 in their last event speaking their native tongue, taking down 3DMAX in their most impressive win yet.

SAW have qualified for PGL Cluj-Napoca's playoffs over 3DMAX in a sensational upset.

There were bumpy moments as an 11-4 lead on map two turned into overtime, with shades of the 2022 heartbreaker in these very Bucharest studios versus Outsiders, but SAW rallied to win 16-14, 2-0, and make the arena.

It completes an unlikely reversal of fortune as SAW bounced back from the pre-tournament benchings of Ricardo "⁠roman⁠" Oliveira and José "⁠Shr⁠" Gil as well as sitting 0-2 after the first two rounds of the tournament.

Sceptics could point to a fortunate draw as they defeated fellow minnows FlyQuest and Complexity but 3DMAX, the gatekeepers of the tier 1.5 scene, are a scalp harder to explain away.

The win means roman, benched after five years with SAW and 1660 maps alongside Christopher "⁠MUTiRiS⁠" Fernandes, will get the perfect farewell in Cluj-Napoca's arena.

"It was rough, the first days, but roman and Shr have accepted [the decision]," Maikil "⁠Golden⁠" Selim told the desk post-game. "You can see how we're playing without pressure. They're being very professional about it."

The team have João "⁠story⁠" Vieira to thank for the brunt of their run, their star AWPer shining in the key first halves against 3DMAX and finding 1.13 kills per round win in their three series victories. It was his 4k late on Nuke that halted the 3DMAX comeback, and he stood tall in Dust2's overtime as well.

"I would feel bad if roman goes out with a really bad result," story told HLTV on Sunday. "We are just trying to give our best to give [roman and Shr] the best result possible, and we are trying to go to the arena." That mission has now been completed.

Date	Matches
PGL Cluj-Napoca 2025
16/02/2025	SAW Finished 2:1 FlyQuest	Match
17/02/2025	Complexity Finished 0:2 SAW	Match
18/02/2025	3DMAX Finished 0:2 SAW	Match

Shr fights on even after his benching

Shr has every right to be aggrieved by his treatment in SAW. He shone as a star AWPer in 2024, but was happy to join as an aggressive rifler in Michel "⁠ewjerkz⁠" Pinto's positions.

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roman and Shr to leave SAW

That scope of change would require a bedding-in period for anyone, let alone a player who never made it to a Big Event before this year.

But after just 13 maps with the team, the decision was made to remove both him and roman in favor of a new international project.

Clip: Quad kills like these from story are why Shr was happy to move to a rifling role in SAW.

Shr, since then, has shown admirable fight with a 1.25 rating since SAW went 0-2 that was capped off by a 15-8 first half against 3DMAX on Dust2.

As story alluded to, he has made mistakes. He was also a bit sheepish as SAW's lead started to collapse on Dust2, but after a performance like this Cluj should not be the last we see of Shr.

3DMAX's gates swing open on home ground

3DMAX have been a gatekeeper team in 2025, using their tactical accumen to keep tier 2 teams below them but not always having the individuals to beat tier 1 teams above them.

This match against SAW then, was the best opportunity a team like 3DMAX could wish for to qualify for a Big Event arena playoffs.

Clip: 3DMAX's only round win in the first 11 rounds of Nuke came in a low-buy 2v4.

But the gatehouse was battered down by a SAW flying on the wings of their momentum. Wins against FlyQuest and Complexity were painted as embarassments for the losers, matches where SAW, as a dead team walking, had no right to win. The same has to be applied here for 3DMAX.

This was the 'lucky' draw for 3DMAX, the chance to get off to a flyer with the re-addition of Alexandre "⁠bodyy⁠" Pianaro. Instead, poor first halves (2-10 and 4-8) were emblematic of pressure getting to the team in a rare position of being favorites.

Losing map two after dragging it back to overtime, on their home map of Dust2, was an especially tough way to bow out.