Ricardo “roman” Oliveira and José “Shr” Gil will be leaving SAW after the team’s participation in PGL Cluj-Napoca, marking the end of roman’s five-year association with the organization.
SAW announced the change, confirming that the move will occur after the conclusion of the PGL Cluj-Napoca tournament, which is scheduled to begin on February 14. According to the organization, the timing of this decision was influenced by the roster lock imposed by ESL Pro League, and the new lineup is expected to take over once the event concludes.
“After much contemplation among the CS2 core team regarding the future, we have come to the decision that it’s time to close this chapter with SAW,” the organization explained.
“Following the tournament, roman and Shr will no longer be part of the main roster. This marks a difficult and emotional change for the team and all those who have supported us throughout the years, signaling the end of an era in SAW.”
Roman’s departure is a particularly significant moment, as the 32-year-old has been with SAW for over five years. During his tenure, he experienced the disappointment of their near-miss at the PGL Major Antwerp RMR against Outsiders, as well as the excitement of their top-four finish at IEM Cologne 2024 and their rise to No. 9 in HLTV’s world rankings.
Shr, on the other hand, joined SAW at the start of the year but struggled to make an impact, finishing with a 0.88 rating over 13 maps.
Last year saw the exit of two key SAW players, Rafael “arrozdoce” Wing and Michel “ewjerkz” Pinto. Despite managing to recover after the former’s departure, winning ESL Challenger Katowice, the team has since faced a decline in performance. With a 1-5 series record in 2025, SAW has been eliminated from both BLAST Bounty and IEM Katowice without securing a map win.
