SAW became the first team to advance to the second stage at IEM Cologne thanks to their 2-1 victory against BIG.

After the game, we spoke to their coach BERRY about the development within the team since he joined, overcoming language barriers, and whether or not they can pull off an upset when the big boys arrive.

Interview was taken and written by Sam "AN1MO" McKenzie

You're through to Stage 2 now at IEM Cologne, how are you feeling?

Very good, we expected we could do it, but I don't know if we expected we would do it in two games. 

With the CS we are playing, we are very happy.

Your first event with the team was at BLAST Spring Final, what developments have you seen since then?

We worked a lot on implementing some of my style and ideas, and how we approach different situations. I think we have improved a lot since then, and after the player break, I feel like we're seeing improvements in every practice we have.

READ MORE: OG benched k1to in their CS2 roster

At BLAST you spoke about language difficulties, have any of those issues improved?

There are still some things that are hard, mid-round it's difficult when we're playing, but I'm getting all of the start of the rounds now and I feel like I understand a lot now in terms of the words and what they want to do. 

The guys weren't so confident with English at first but that's also getting a lot better and everyone is getting more comfortable. Everything is improving.

I also wanted to take classes in Portuguese but we haven't managed to find the time yet, hopefully, it's something we can do after Cologne.

You were originally signed on a trial basis but the organisation has since said you're sticking around, how long will that be for?

For now, we have extended the deal to the end of the year, just to see if it's still working. Obviously, there have been some issues, but we still think it's a good fit and for now it's working well. I expect to stick around longer.

So you can see yourself being with SAW for a long time?

Yeah, definitely. If it keeps going like this and they're still happy to have me, yes.

READ MORE: FlyQuest leaves IEM Cologne 2024 after defeat by The MongolZ

You'll now be facing the big boys of CS in the second stage, which didn't go as well as you would have liked at BLAST, so how are you more prepared for it this time?