logo
Menu
CS2
CS2
CyberSport News
Updated 2024-10-29
634

SAW Win First-Ever LAN At ESL Challenger's Katowice

Muhammad Shahrayar Sheikh is a news writer at cyber-sport.io who covers the latest news in the Counter-Strike 2 sphere. Amongst the many games he grew up playing, Counter-Strike 1.6 was...
6 min read
On October 29th, 2024, SAW, short for Stay a Warrior, the Portuguese esports organization took home their first LAN trophy in Counter-Strike 2 after winning ESL Challenger’s Katowice. The team has had a phenomenal run throughout the tournament, having fortunate matchups but also having the capability to close things out. In fact, they are the only team that went completely undefeated the entire tournament.
Tweet Share on Facebook Copy link Send via Email
22 Bet

Looking back at their track record over the tournament, they first beat BB 13-10 in the best-of-one group stages, and then two days later, best Monte in a very intense game to rematch BB in the grand finals. Given that they had beaten BB before, they knew they could do it again and that’s exactly what they did as they delivered a 2-0 defeat. BB, of course, was a formidable team by every metric, especially since they beat Eternal Fire twice throughout the tournament, consistently towering over them.

SAW Win First-Ever LAN At ESL Challenger's Katowice

The redemption run

SAW has seen its fair share of troubles get to this point. Very few were expecting them to reach the grand finals, much less win it, as the Portuguese team arrived in Poland after losing Rafael "⁠arrozdoce⁠" Wing and coach Danny "⁠BERRY⁠" Krüger two weeks prior. However, that was only the tip of the iceberg as their problems began much earlier in the year. 


 

SAW had a good start to 2024 - the team had ramped up much momentum as they made it to the top 10 in global rankings after reaching the semi-finals at IEM Cologne. However, uneasiness seeped into fans as the team also lost in the semi-finals of ESL Challenger’s Atlanta, a tournament where they were the favourites to win. Shortly afterwards, fans were hit with shocking news as SAW decided to bench anchor/lurker “arrozdoce,” having expressed an interest in leaving the team at the end of the year, with Ag1l arriving as a replacement. 


 

Things had hit rock bottom at SAW as Christopher "⁠MUTiRiS⁠" Fernandes explained in a pre-recorded interview: "In Atlanta our team was kinda destroyed inside. People don't see that because they are not inside the team, but the mood was not really good. Right now I think we're bouncing back from back then, day by day people seem more happy, we are improving on the days that we have practices, and that is really important for our confidence.”


 

"When I say that we need time, it is really what we need because we are growing, but of course you can't find the solutions all the time. Sometimes you're struggling on some maps and that is what is happening to us. I don't want to change a lot because Ag1l is here for two or three weeks and if we come to a tournament, we do a game with a lot of anti-strats, it isn't going to feel comfortable. So we're going to try and find our game; if we play with confidence, we have a chance," he added.


 

Seeing the ups and downs at SAW makes us appreciate their victory at ESL Challenger’s Katowice. After juggling so many roster changes just before a tournament, confidence is the last thing a team is expected to have, but the Portuguese somehow showed up and proved everyone wrong. Their performance at the grand final was especially dominant as they took Ancient 13-3 and Nuke 13-5. Every player on the team performed exceptionally, boasting a positive KD and a rating higher than 1.0. 

 

The following are the detailed stats of each player on the occasion of the grand final:

1. Christopher 'MUTiRiS' Fernandes

K/D: 30/15

+/-: +15

ADR: 91.9

Rating: 1.56

2. João 'story' Vieira

K/D: 31/15

+/-: +16

ADR: 93.3

Rating: 1.46

3. Ricardo 'roman' Oliveira

K/D: 31/18

+/-: +12

ADR: 93.1

Rating: 1.45

4. Michel 'ewjerkz' Pinto

K/D: 21/18

+/-: +3

ADR: 66.8

Rating: 1.18

5. André 'Ag1l' Gil

K/D: 20/17

+/-: +3

ADR: 69.4

Rating: 1.05

Tweet Share on Facebook Copy link Send via Email
Muhammad Shahrayar Sheikh

More articles

CS2 Autoexec Setup: Step-by-Step Guide to Creating a CFG File
Every CS2 player has their own quirks and unique settings, from custom key binds to unconventional video configurations. Manually adjusting these every time can be tedious. However, using config files, you can automate the process effortlessly. Here’s how to create a CFG file and set up an autoexec function in CS2.
February 24, 2025
How to Get Access to CS2 in 2025
How to Get Access to CS2 in 2025
October 29, 2024
How to Watch CS2 Demos – Methods to Use
How to Watch CS2 Demos – Methods to Use
December 03, 2024
CS2 Loadout System
With the introduction of a new loadout system in CS2, players are eager to create the best possible loadout to win their competitive matches. Each loadout is customized according to attacking or saving the site, and we crafted the best CS2 loadouts for every situation.
January 02, 2025
How Many People Are Playing CS2? - CS2 Player Count in 2025?
CS:GO has been popular for many years. After being released in 2012, the game quickly gained a large and loyal fan base that couldn’t wait to go online and play. Counter-Strike is a multiplayer first-person shooter that sees two teams, respectively the terrorists and counter-terrorists, playing against each other. Depending on the game mode, each team has different goals. Given the game’s competitiveness, mixed with the availability of various maps, weapon skins, and strategies, it’s not surprising that Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is still going strong today. Actually, Valve released CS2 in 2023, which is the 5th entry in the series. But what is the CS2 player count in 2024? In this post, we will look at how many people play the game today and compare the stats to those of other games.
October 30, 2024
How to Level Up Fast on CSGORoll (XP & Strategy Tips)
How to Level Up Fast on CSGORoll (XP & Strategy Tips)
June 20, 2025
How Many People Are Playing CS2? - CS2 Player Count in [year]?
How Many People Are Playing CS2? - CS2 Player Count in 2025?
October 30, 2024
How to Level Up Fast on CSGORoll (XP & Strategy Tips)
How to Level Up Fast on CSGORoll (XP & Strategy Tips)
June 20, 2025