SAW completed their fairytale journey at the last tournament with Ricardo “roman” Oliveiro and José “Shr” Gil, qualifying for the playoffs after defeating 3DMAX in a two-map series.
Despite the fact that Roman is leaving the team after the tournament, he emphasized that he continues to give his all.
“I love to compete and I give it my all. I showed a little too much emotion, and it shows that I don’t care, that I still feel the pressure. But I’m here to win,” he said in an interview with HLTV.
Roman’s Reflections
After reaching the top 8, Roman also commented on SAW’s decision, the end of his time at the club, and admitted that he was unsure about his future.
Performance Highlights
Interviewer: Congratulations, you’ve made it to the arena. Where did these performances come from?
Roman: To be honest, in the first two matches we played against FaZe. I think this is the best FaZe in the last few months, and they are playing just incredible. From an individual point of view, they are one of the strongest teams in the world, maybe even top 2.
They crushed us, but even though we lost, we were close to winning Nuke, and that showed that we can compete with these teams. We played Nuke well twice – against Astralis and FaZe. It just happened: we played quality CS, and everyone was confident in their abilities.
Team Dynamics
Interviewer: Did it become easier to play knowing that this lineup would no longer exist?
Roman: I can only speak for myself. For me, the pressure is still the same, because I want to play well. I like to compete and I give my all. As you probably noticed yesterday, I was very disappointed because I didn’t do everything right. I showed too much emotion, which means that I don’t care and that I still feel the pressure. But I’m here to win.
The Emotional Farewell
Interviewer: You were at SAW for five years. How do you perceive this tournament as your last in the Portuguese club’s jersey?
Roman: Of course, it’s sad. There have been many ups and downs over the years, but the team needs changes because the training wasn’t going well and we weren’t progressing. If you want to move to a new level, you need to update the squad. I understand this decision and I fully support it. As I said, I will support the guys in any case.
Memorable Moments
Interviewer: You mentioned the ups and downs. The most painful moment was probably the first RMR in Romania when you almost made it to the Major. But on the second attempt, you did it. Is it nice to finish this stage playing in the arena?
Roman: I think I have a kind of love-hate relationship with Romania. The first time I played here, we lost to VP by literally half a second. The next time we went to a Major after starting 0:2. And now I’ve been benched in Romania, and at the same time, we made it to the playoffs.
I don’t even know what to say. I’m just glad we did it because I love competing, I love playing against the best teams in the world. And if this is my last tournament in SAW, then I’m happy that it was successful.
Looking to the Future
Interviewer: Last question about the future. What’s next?
Roman: I haven’t thought about it yet because I’m still playing in the tournament. I heard the news when I came here to Romania. I’ll take a few weeks to make a decision. I don’t know yet if I’ll continue playing. I love the game, but I’ve been playing it for almost 20 years, so I need to think carefully about what I want to do.
Whatever I do, it should be fun. It could be playing, coaching, streaming, or something outside of esports. I’ll just choose what’s best for me and what I really want to do. I feel like I’m in a privileged position, so I’ll take this opportunity and do what’s best for me.
and money
GO Go GO!!!
yeah!!!