- Portuguese team SAW bested ENCE in the opening round of Group C
- Both teams traded maps, dominating each other until the final one
- The match was decided after overtime on Anubis, which ended in a 19-16 in favor of SAW
SAW is a team that’s a full 27 spots below top-10 team ENCE, but that did not hinder them to beat the favorites following a grueling match.
SAW Beat ENCE
We are well into Brazy Party and teams are duking it out for a chance to win a part of the $330,000 prize pool. Portuguese organization SAW’s chances to do so have improved following their 2-1 victory over the mixed European roster of ENCE in the opening round of Group C of the online tournament.
SAW’s victory comes as somewhat of a surprise, considering the ratings between the two teams. ENCE is by far the favorite of the two, being a top-10 team, while SAW stands a whole 27 spots below them. The mixed European roster came into Brazy Party after a successful campaign at the RMRs, which landed them a spot at the Paris Major. The team suffered losses to Monte and FORZE, but then fared much better in the best-of-three portion of the Swiss system to qualify for the Major with a 3-2 record. Therefore, the loss from SAW at Brazy Party is a blow to the team’s morale.
Speaking of SAW, the team welcomes the victory, following their disastrous run at the RMR, which they exited early with a 0-3 record after losses to Virtus.pro, MOUZ, and OG. This was so bad that it resulted in SAW’s head coach arki leaving the organization. Since then, the Portuguese team did some more roster shifting, adding Rafael “arrozdoce” Wing, who has so far managed to help his new team win two matches, despite not making the best performance.
Here’s How the Match Went
Considering both team’s standings, it was clear ENCE is the favorite of the two, therefore, it should not be surprising that the mixed European squad took the early lead on Vertigo, winning the map with a dominating 16-8. One would think that this would repeat in the following map, but most viewers could not have been more wrong.
SAW struck back on Nuke, which was ironically ENCE’s pick. Despite that, SAW dominated their mixed European squad, scoring a more than impressive result of 16-6. ENCE had probably underestimated their Portuguese opponents and now that the gloves were off, the match was going to be decided on Anubis.
ENCE had had enough and quickly took the lead, finishing the first half with a one-sided 11-4. However, having tasted victory on the second map, SAW were not planning of folding that easily. The Portuguese team came back in force once the sides flipped, and force out overtime after a four-round streak in the dying moments of the half. They kept that momentum to close out the map 19-16 to move on to the Group C winners' match.
It’s not yet all over for ENCE, as they will have to face GamerLegion in an elimination match on Saturday. Meanwhile, SAW will once again take the role of the underdog, as they advance to meet Astralis.
