s1mple Returns to Tier-1 LANs as BC.Game Acquire SAW Core

BC.Game has completed the acquisition of SAW’s Portuguese core. Christopher “MUTiRiS” Fernandes, Adones “krazy” Nobre, and António “aragornN” Barbosa will join Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev and Denis “electroNic” Sharipov, bringing their VRS ranking points and invites in tow. The signing finally provides s1mple with a pathway back to elite competition, with the team already above the VRS cutoff for an IEM Kraków 2026 invite.

BC.Game’s shock signing of s1mple put the roster on many people’s radar, and for a while it looked like the team might make steady progress through the tier-2 circuit. But after a few months where s1mple largely held up his side of the superstar bargain, the team’s lack of results sapped the Ukrainian’s motivations once more.