roman: "I didn't think about the future yet; I got the news when I came to Romania"

"I've played the game for almost 20 years, so I need to think about what I want to do with my life," added the Portuguese veteran.

SAW completed a fairytale run in their last tournament with Ricardo "⁠roman⁠" Oliveira and José "⁠Shr⁠" Gil and qualified for the playoffs after besting 3DMAX in a two-map series.

Despite leaving the team after the event, roman said he is still giving it his all. "I love to compete, and I'm here to give it all," he told HLTV.

"I showed a bit too much [emotion], so that shows that I care and that I still have pressure. I'm here to win anyway."

After qualifying for the top eight, roman also spoke about SAW's decision, the end of his chapter in the organization, and revealed he is unsure about the future.

---

Congrats, you made the arena. Where did these performances come from?

To be honest, in the first two games, we faced FaZe. I think this is the best FaZe we've seen in months, and they are playing extremely well. Individually, they are probably one of the best teams in the world, probably top two, I'd say.

They destroyed us, but even though we lost, we came really close on Nuke, and we showed that we are capable of beating those teams. I wouldn't take those games for granted, because we played well two times on Nuke against Astralis and FaZe. Everything just clicked, we were playing good CS, and everyone was confident.

Is it maybe down to having less pressure given the roster will not continue into the future?

I can only talk personally. For me, the pressure is the same because I want to perform. I love to compete, and I'm here to give it all. As you probably saw yesterday, I was super frustrated while playing because things weren't working out for me. I showed a bit too much [emotion], so that shows that I care and that I still have pressure. I'm here to win anyway.

You've been in SAW for five years, which is a huge part of your career. How do you look at this being your last tournament in this jersey?

Of course, it's sad. It has been so many years, we had so many ups and downs, and the team just needed some changes because the practice wasn't going very well. We weren't improving. If you want to play on the next level, you probably need some fresh blood or some different guys, and I understand the decision completely. Like I said before, I'll support them anyway.

You said there were many ups and downs. The down was the first time RMR in Romania when you almost went to the Major, but then you did it the second time. Is it nice to finish the whole chapter by playing in an arena?

I think I have a love-hate relationship with Romania. The first time I came here, we lost by half a second to VP. Next time, we qualified for the Major when we were 0-2. Now I get benched in Romania, and we go to the playoffs. So it's a love-hate relationship.

I don't really know what to say. I'm just happy that we did it because I love to compete, I love to play against the best teams in the world. As this is the last tournament with SAW, I'm just very happy that it went well.

Just a final question about your future. What's next for you?

I didn't think about it yet because I'm still in the tournament, I got the news when I came here to Romania. I'll take some weeks to decide, and I don't know if I'll keep playing or not. I love the game, but I've played it for almost 20 years, and I really need to think about what I want to do with my life.

Whatever I'm going to do, I have to enjoy it. If it's playing, coaching, streaming, or something outside of the game, I just have to think about it and choose what's best for me and what I like the most. I feel like I'm in a privileged position, and I'll just take advantage of it and do what's best for me.