João ‘story’ Vieira has pledged his future to SAW until the conclusion of 2027, as announced by the Portuguese organization on Monday. This encouraging update provides a much-needed relief for SAW after the unexpected decision to bench key players Rafael ‘arrozdoce’ Wing and Michel ‘ewjerkz’ Pinto.
‘story’ joined SAW’s roster in July 2022, during a transfer that involved him and ‘ewjerkz’ coming from FTW, while Renato ‘stadodo’ Gonçalves and coach Rui ‘vts’ Soares headed the other way.
SAW Announcement
The 22-year-old has become an essential part of the Portuguese team, which surprised everyone by reaching the semi-finals of IEM Cologne this summer.
He proceeded to achieve the two most outstanding LAN events of his career beyond the Iberian Peninsula, maintaining a 1.20 rating during SAW’s semi-final journey at ESL Challenger Atlanta — ‘arrozdoce’s last tournament with the squad — and a 1.19 rating in their championship victory at ESL Challenger Katowice.
SAW’s season concluded on a letdown as the squad failed to secure a spot in the Major after being defeated by SINNERS, Natus Vincere, and BetBoom at Europe RMR A. Soon after returning from Shanghai, the team revealed that ‘ewjerkz’ would be joining ‘arrozdoce’ on the sidelines.
The Portuguese squad, set to participate in ESL Pro League Season 21 in February, has completed their roster by bringing on board José ‘Shr’ Gil, a former member of FTW and GTZ.
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