The surprise of the tournament came from the Portuguese team SAW, who defied the odds after a rough 0-2 start with losses to FaZe and Astralis. They staged an incredible comeback, defeating higher ranking teams including FlyQuest, Complexity, and 3DMAX to secure a well-earned spot in playoffs. This also serves as a fitting farewell for Ricardo “roman” Oliveira and José "Shr" Gil, who will get to play in front of a live audience one last time before parting ways with the organization.
Speaking to HLTV, roman shared his thoughts regarding his final appearance for SAW, saying that the team was in need of change and that “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”. He also praised FaZe’s performance, saying that “this is the best FaZe we’ve seen in months”.
SAW will now have a rematch against FaZe in the playoffs, while The MongolZ prepare to take on Astralis, who have been struggling with consistency on Romanian soil. Eternal Fire, hoping to overcome the jitters they faced at IEM Katowice, will go up against NiKo’s Falcons, who are seeking revenge after their previous loss to the Turkish squad in Poland.
Meanwhile, paiN, led by Rodrigo "biguzera" Bittencourt, will make their debut in a Big Event playoff match against a rising MOUZ squad. MOUZ has been improving throughout the tournament, mostly thanks to Lotan "Spinx" Giladi’s strong performances, but they face a challenge with Ludvig "Brollan" Brolin still adjusting to his in-game leading role against the experienced Brazilian captain.
All the quarterfinals are set to take place on February 21, featuring the following matchups:
The playoffs will also feature a third-place decider match on Sunday, where the two sem-final losers will battle for extra prize money and valuable VRS points. Finally, the event will conclude with a best-of-five grand final to determine the tournament champion.
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