SAW Part Ways with Head Coach

10 Oct 2024

Tit Krajnik 10 Oct 2024

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SAW announced the departure of head coach Danny "BERRY" Krüger
BERRY leaves the Portuguese CS squad after three months
Second roster change of the month

SAW

Portuguese Counter-Strike esports team SAW announced the departure of head coach Danny "BERRY" Krüger. The 34-year-old parted ways with the team after just three months, having joined SAW at the start of July.

BERRY's departure marks the second roster change SAW have made this month. On October 9, the Portuguese esports side benched their rifler Rafael "arrozdoce" Wing, who was replaced by André "Ag1l" Gil from Rhyno Esports.

The changes come despite SAW's recent success in their competitive endeavours.

They reached the semifinals of CCT Season 2 European Series #6 at the end of July and, in August, added another deep run at Intel Extreme Masters Cologne 2024 (3rd-4th), marking SAW's most notable tournament placement of the year.

Since then, SAW has qualified for Perfect World Shanghai Major 2024: European RMRs and, earlier this month, reached the semifinals of ESL Challenger at DreamHack Atlanta 2024. Despite impressive showings under BERRY, the Danish strategist decided to leave the team due to differing viewpoints.

"Due to differing viewpoints regarding methodology and perspectives for the team, we made the decision, together with Berry, that the best course of action would be to go our separate ways," read the announcement.

After joining SAW last June, Berry proved himself and showed that he had what it took to keep up with the team and at the same time participate in its development, something that was confirmed in his latest performances. We appreciate all the work and dedication demonstrated so far. We are grateful for all the mastery and teachings transmitted over the last few months, which will certainly be immortalized in our history.

BERRY started working with SAW in May despite working his entire career with Danish teams. Yet despite the language barrier, he helped SAW reach new heights, helping SAW reach their peak no.9 ranking on the global Counter-Strike standings in September.

SAW have yet to announce BERRY's replacement; however, the Portuguese side now have only two weeks to fill the vacant spot ahead of ESL Challenger Katowice 2024.

In Katowice, SAW will join a stacked list of participating teams vying for the lion's share of the $100,000 prize pool. The tournament will welcome Eternal Fire, MIBR, Team Falcons, Monte, B8, Legacy, and paiN Gaming, rounding up one of the more stacked ESL Challenger lineups of the year.