The first semifinal of IEM Cologne turned out to be a lopsided match, but the signature electrifying atmosphere was still very much alive.

While the crowd was pretty much indifferent to SAW yesterday, today it felt like their magical run was starting to win everyone over.

On the other side, it’s hard to rival the excitement of Vitality’s fan group, the Golden Hornets.

Standing right beside them, their nonstop chants made it feel like we were at a football match. Their energy is unmatched, and that probably gave the team a boost on the server.

SAW came out swinging in the first half of Nuke, but Vitality quickly shut them down on the T side, with apEX leading the charge.

The man wasn’t just calling the shots — he was taking them too. What a way to turn back the years.

Unfortunately for SAW, broky was not playing today, and Vitality continued their dominance on Dust 2 with a strong performance from ZywOo.

SAW had zero chances. apEX also kept the momentum going, delivering an incredible 1.77 rating performance across the series.

Even arrozdoce admitted they simply got outclassed.

Ultimately, SAW have every reason to be happy about their performance. What an incredible run — they made an entire nation proud. We’re excited to see what the future holds for the Portuguese squad, especially the young guns.

In the end, one lesson was clear: stay away from the hive.