MUTiRiS: "I've been fighting for so many years to bring Portuguese CS to the top"

SAW have continued their strong form from IEM Cologne 2024 with the team earning a playoffs berth at ESL Challenger Atlanta after taking down BetBoom in a close series. The recent results are something of a culmination of Christopher "MUTiRiS" Fernandes's dream to bring Portuguese CS to the forefront of the scene. He discussed this long road with Jeffrey "Mnmzzz" Moore with the focus being on Portugal's young stars, his relationship with Ricardo "roman" Oliveira, picking up a Danish coach, and what it would mean to take home a trophy finally, among other topics.

That was a fantastic comeback for the team on Ancient, did you expect that series to be as close as it was?

We knew that it was going to be a tough game but after Anubis we had the game in our hands because we were going to play our best map — Nuke. But, it was a strange game and we didn't find the solutions as CT's so props to them because they played really well and in the last map we didn't play beautiful CS.

It was winning with our hearts so it feels really good right now, but it was not a nice game from us and BetBoom played really well.

With the team making the playoffs, it continues a sort of "golden era" of Portuguese CS. How does it feel to be bringing Portuguese CS back to the forefront?

Yeah, of course. We have been fighting for so many years, I'm 31 years old right now so I've been fighting for so many years to bring Portuguese CS to the top. So, we worked so hard and in the last few years we needed some time for the other players to gain some experience at this stage.

Right now we are playing really well but of course we're a different team from Cologne, but we're trying to reach that level. Let's see what happens tomorrow.

Do you think completing that 10-4 comeback on Ancient has mentally primed the team to perform in playoffs?

Yeah for sure because we were there and we didn't know what to do. After [losing] so many rounds on CT we just made an amazing comeback so it's going to be really good because tomorrow we are going to face some difficulties and we already faced that right now.

It's not going to be a surprise as we have already bested difficulties, it feels really good to have that win.

What can you tell me about the young stars on this lineup and how they have developed under you and roman?

Since day one we knew that they are amazing, of course they needed some experience and we needed to build our game for them too. At the beginning we adapted a lot and we needed to wait and work really really hard but right now they are very comfortable. We have a high level of CS but I think right now we are not at our peak and it's sad because we want to win here.

Let's see if tomorrow we can come with a lot of energy like this last map, and I hope that we can reach the finals and maybe win.

Tomorrow you will be facing BIG. What do you think you need to do to reach your peak and take home that trophy?

We already faced them in Cologne and it was a really tough game so it's a team that we already know how they play. It's going to be mind games and maybe a surprise pick or something like that.

They are playing really well and lately BIG have been improving a lot and it's a team that I have a lot of respect for because I know all of them, especially tabseN, he's a great guy. It's amazing to play against great players.

You have played with roman for 8+ years at this point. What makes him such a special player that you have gone out of your way to spend your career with him as a teammate?

roman is a guy that always wants to improve, always wants to win, and dedicates a lot to the game. Of course people don't see the hard work behind the team and he's one of the most hard working guys that I have met in my life.

For me it's a pleasure to play with him and if he keeps that mindset we can play more years together. It's amazing to play with roman.

BERRY is a very interesting coaching addition because he comes from a completely different scene and perspective. Can you explain why you went for someone completely removed from the Iberian scene?

When we were looking for a coach we were looking for someone different from our background. He's Danish and they have a different culture and they know how to approach some things that we needed to learn.

At the beginning it was really good for us because he came with a really good mindset. Sometimes after practices we were tilting and he came to us and reminded us it was practice and we didn't need to be tilted.

It's a guy that has been amazing to have on the team, and we have been working together for some months but we are still learning about each other. It's a process and we are happy to have him.

Trophies are few and far between for Portuguese teams. What would it mean to bring home an international LAN trophy to Portugal?

It would be amazing because we have never been in the US so right now everything feels amazing and it's always special to lift a trophy. If we have that opportunity to win an international tournament it's really important for our organization and for me personally it will be a really good achievement.

I think we can do it and we are fighting against ourselves to be able to do it.