Heroic (esports)

European professional esports organisation

HEROIC

Divisions| Counter-Strike 2
Dota 2
Valorant
Fortnite
Founded| 26 August 2016 (2016-08-26)
Location| Oslo, Norway
CEO| Joachim “Noobwork” Haraldsen[1]
Partners| Red Bull, Xtrfy, Maxim, Gsign
Website| heroic.gg

Heroic (stylized as HEROIC) is a Norwegian esports organization[2] with teams competing in Counter-Strike 2, Dota 2, Valorant and Fortnite.[3]

The esports organization is best known for its Counter-Strike team,[4] and has made it to the playoffs of PGL Major Stockholm 2021,[5] PGL Major Antwerp 2022,[6] Blast.tv Paris Major 2023[7] and Perfect World Shanghai Major 2024.[8]

They also placed 2nd at IEM Rio Major 2022, losing to Outsiders[a] in the grand finals.[9]

## Counter-Strike: Global Offensive

[edit]

### History

[edit]

The organization was founded in Denmark on 26 August 2016 by with the initial roster being composed of future Astralis in-game leader Lukas "gla1ve" Rossander, Michael "Friis" Jørgensen, Valdemar "valde" Vangså, Marco "Snappi" Pfeiffer, and Andreas "MODDII" Fridh. They became a part of RFRSH Entertainment before being sold to Seranades Global in 2018.[10] In February 2021, Heroic was acquired by Norwegian organization Omaken Sports.[11][12]

On 11 April 2022, Heroic won ESL Pro League Season 13 and qualified for the BLAST Premier World Final 2021 after Casper "cadiaN" Møller won a one-versus-four against Gambit Esports in the grand finals of the tournament.[13][14] Shortly after, the team announced that it had purchased a member team spot in BLAST Premier.[15][2] The team is also partnered with tournament organizer ESL, with a guaranteed spot in the ESL Pro League.[16]

At the PGL Major Antwerp 2022, Heroic made it to the quarterfinals before losing to Natus Vincere.[6]

At the IEM Rio Major 2022, Heroic reached the finals, but lost to Outsiders.[a][9]

Heroic reached the semifinals of the Blast.tv Paris Major 2023, losing 1-2 to GamerLegion in an upset.[7]

Following a 4-6th place finish at the BLAST Premier Spring Groups 2023 on 29 January 2023,[17] Heroic qualified for the Spring Finals, where they came first following a 2-1 victory over Team Vitality.[18]

### Achievements

[edit]

* 1st – DreamHack Open Atlanta 2019[19]
* 1st – ESL One Cologne 2020 Europe[20]
* 1st – ESL Pro League Season 13-qualified for BLAST Premier World Finals 2021[21]
* 3rd/4th – PGL Major Stockholm 2021[22]
* 3rd/4th – Intel Extreme Masters XVI Katowice[23]
* 1st – Pinnacle Winter Series 3[24]
* 1st – PGL Major Antwerp 2022 Europe RMR A[25]
* 5-8th – PGL Major Antwerp 2022[26]
* 2nd – IEM Rio Major 2022[27]
* 1st – BLAST Premier Fall Final 2022[28]
* 2nd – IEM Katowice 2023[29]
* 2nd – IEM Rio 2023[30]
* 3-4th – Blast.tv Paris Major 2023[7]
* 1st – BLAST Premier Spring Final 2023[31]

## Counter-Strike 2

[edit]

### Current roster

[edit]

Heroic Counter-Strike 2 roster

Players | Coaches
| Handle  | Name  | Nationality

|
|

tN1R  | Tatarinovich, Andrey  | Belarus
LNZ  | Holtäng, Linus  | Sweden
yxngstxr  | Boije, Simon  | Sweden
gr1ks  | Gazin, Gleb  | Belarus
nilo  | Bergman, Linus  | Sweden
xfl0ud (I) | Koç, Yasin  | Turkey

Head coach

Tobias "TOBIZ" Theo

* * *

Legend:

* (I) Inactive
* (S) Suspended
*   *   *   * Substitute
* Injury / Illness

Latest roster transaction: 30 June 2025.

### History

[edit]

On 4 October 2023, Heroic announced the benching of cadiaN.[32] He was replaced by Peter "dupreeh" Rasmussen on October 23, signing until the end of 2023.[33] Two days later, on 25 October, Heroic announced the temporary benchings of Martin "stavn" Lund and Jakob "jabbi" Nygaard following claims that the pair allegedly demanded the removal of cadiaN in exchange for contract extensions, before communicating their intentions to join Astralis. The players were replaced by MOUZ academy players William "sirah" Kjærsgaard and Christoffer "⁠Chr1zN⁠" Storgaard[34] for Thunderpick World Championship 2023 and Roobet Cup 2023, where the team finished 5-8th and 9-12th respectively.[35][36]

On 30 October 2023, ahead of Blast Premier Fall Final 2023, Heroic announced that cadiaN would return to the roster for the tournament as a stand-in.[37] Two days later, Heroic confirmed their roster for the event, after naming Rasmus "Zyphon" Nordfoss as a stand-in, signing on loan from Sprout.[38] Heroic lost in the opening round of the tournament in a 2-0 loss against Team Vitality, before defeating Astralis to qualify for the quarter-finals.[39] They were then eliminated after losing to Cloud9.[40]

Jabbi and stavn transferred to Astralis on 24 November 2023.[41]

Heroic announced the loan signing of Jason "salazar" Salazar, along with the continued loan of Zyphon, for Blast Premier World Final 2023.[42] Following the elimination of Heroic by MOUZ,[43] dupreeh became a free agent after his contract with the team expired.

Team Liquid signed cadiaN on 6 December 2023.[44] Later that month, on 12 December, Heroic announced the departure of Xizt.[45] He was replaced on 16 December 2023 by previous ENCE coach Eetu "sAw" Saha.[46] The Finnish coach would be joined by former ENCE teammate Guy "NertZ" Iluz the next day.[47] The organization announced the signing of Nico "nicoodoz" Tamjidi on 18 December 2023.[48] Heroic completed its roster rebuild on 21 December 2023 after the transfer of Damjan "kyxsan" Stoilkovski.[49] On 12 May 2024, nicoodoz was replaced by Abdul "degster" Gasanov.[50]

Following the end of the 2024 season, Heroic once again underwent a rebuild following the acquisition of degster, kyxsan and TeSeS by Team Falcons on 4 January 2025, and NertZ's departure to Team Liquid on 6 January 2025.[51][52] Heroic announced the departure of sjuush on 8 January 2025.[53] On 10 January 2025, Heroic announced the signing of Sangal's core, featuring Swedish players Linus "LNZ" Holtäng and Simon "yxngstxr" Boije, as well as Turkish player Yasin "xfl0ud" Koç, in addition to Álvaro "SunPayus" García and Andrey "tN1R" Tatarinovich. Heroic also named Linus "nilo" Bergman and Pavle "Maden" Bošković as substitutes ahead of Blast Bounty Season 1.[54]

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ a b Due to sanctions against Russia in response to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Virtus.pro competed under a neutral name.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "About". Retrieved 16 May 2022.
2. ^ a b Seck, Tobias. "Heroic joins Blast Premier's Counter-Strike series". www.sportsbusinessjournal.com. Retrieved 8 June 2022.
3. ^ "Heroic esports teams". Heroic. Retrieved 24 June 2025.
4. ^ Biazzi, Leonardo (29 March 2023). "Heroic's crucial $1 million fundraise buys time, but CS:GO org still faces financial hurdles". Dot Esports. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
5. ^ Biazzi, Leonardo (2 November 2021). "PGL Stockholm Major quarterfinal matchups determined". Dot Esports. Retrieved 8 June 2022.
6. ^ a b Miter, Mateusz (17 May 2022). "Heroic stop Vitality's comeback, secure a PGL Antwerp Major playoff berth". Dot Esports. Retrieved 8 June 2022.
7. ^ a b c "GamerLegion upset Heroic en route to Paris Major final as iM continues charge towards MVP". HLTV.org. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
8. ^ "Team Spirit beats FaZe to win Perfect World CS2 Shanghai Major: Standings, recap & more". Dexerto. 15 December 2024. Retrieved 5 January 2025.
9. ^ a b "Outsiders defeat Heroic 2-0 to win IEM Rio Major". HLTV.org. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
10. ^ Miceli, Max (16 November 2018). "RFRSH Entertainment Sells Counter-Strike team Heroic to Seranades – ARCHIVE - The Esports Observer". Esports Observer. Retrieved 8 June 2022.
11. ^ Seck, Tobias (16 February 2021). "Omaken Sports Raises $18.2M and Acquires Heroic". Esports Observer. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
12. ^ Handrahan, Matthew (18 February 2021). "Omaken Sports forms "Nordic powerhouse of esports" with Heroic acquisition". GamesIndustry.biz. Retrieved 8 June 2022.
13. ^ "ESL Pro League Season 13". hltv.org. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
14. ^ "CADIAN INSANE 1v4 CLUTCH + TEAM REACTION". youtube.com. ESL Counter Strike. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
15. ^ Miter, Mateusz (21 April 2022). "Heroic becomes a member team of BLAST Premier". Dot Esports. Retrieved 8 June 2022.
16. ^ Biazzi, Leonardo (21 October 2021). "Heroic, BIG, and FURIA enter $20 million partnership with ESL". Dot Esports. Retrieved 8 June 2022.
17. ^ "BLAST Premier Spring Groups 2023: Full results as top six teams punch tickets to Spring Finals". Dexerto. Retrieved 18 June 2023.
18. ^ "Heroic secure BLAST Spring Final trophy over Vitality". HLTV. 11 June 2023. Retrieved 18 June 2023.
19. ^ "DreamHack Open Atlanta 2019 Overview". HLTV. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
20. ^ "ESL One Cologne Europe". HLTV. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
21. ^ "ESL Pro League Season 13". HLTV. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
22. ^ "PGL Stockholm Major 2021". HLTV. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
23. ^ "Intel Extreme Masters XVI - Katowice". ESL Gaming. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
24. ^ "Pinnacle Winter Series 3". HLTV. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
25. ^ "PGL Major Antwerp 2022 Europe RMR A". HLTV. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
26. ^ "PGL Major Antwerp 2022". HLTV.org. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
27. ^ "IEM Rio Major 2022". HLTV.org. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
28. ^ "BLAST Premier Fall Final 2022". HLTV.org. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
29. ^ "IEM Katowice 2023". HLTV.org. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
30. ^ "Vitality defeat Heroic 2-0 to win IEM Rio". HLTV.org. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
31. ^ "Heroic secure BLAST Spring Final trophy over Vitality". 11 June 2023. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
32. ^ "Heroic bench cadiaN due to "differing visions for the future"". HLTV. 4 October 2023. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
33. ^ "Heroic sign Astralis legend dupreeh for the start of CS2". Dexerto. 23 October 2023. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
34. ^ "Heroic temporarily remove stavn and jabbi amid Astralis interest". HLTV. 25 October 2023. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
35. ^ "Virtus.pro beat Heroic in postponed Thunderpick World Championship quarter-final". HLTV. 4 November 2023. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
36. ^ "Aurora beat Heroic to qualify for Roobet Cup playoffs". HLTV. 29 October 2023. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
37. ^ "cadiaN to stand in for Heroic at BLAST Fall Final". HLTV. 30 October 2023. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
38. ^ "Heroic confirm Zyphon as stand-in for Fall Final". HLTV. 1 November 2023. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
39. ^ "Astralis crash out of BLAST Fall Final after collapse against Heroic". HLTV. 23 November 2023. Retrieved 25 November 2023.
40. ^ "Cloud9 move on to semi-finals at Royal Arena". HLTV. 24 November 2023. Retrieved 25 November 2023.
41. ^ "Astralis sign jabbi and stavn". HLTV. 24 November 2023. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
42. ^ "Heroic to field salazar at BLAST World Final". HLTV. 28 November 2023. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
43. ^ "MOUZ eliminate Heroic in Abu Dhabi". HLTV. 14 December 2023. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
44. ^ "Official: cadiaN joins Liquid". HLTV. 6 December 2023. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
45. ^ "Heroic announce Xizt departure". HLTV. 12 December 2023. Retrieved 16 December 2023.
46. ^ "sAw joins Heroic". HLTV. 16 December 2023. Retrieved 16 December 2023.
47. ^ "Official: Heroic announce NertZ". HLTV. 17 December 2023. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
48. ^ "nicodooz has joined the Heroic team". egw.news. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
49. ^ Bejder, Thomas. "Heroic unveil new in-game leader | Pley.gg". pley.gg. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
50. ^ "degster joins HEROIC". Heroic Esports. 12 May 2024. Retrieved 11 January 2025.
51. ^ "Team Liquid CS on X: "Completing our 2025 roster, please welcome @NertzCS to Team Liquid"". Twitter. 6 January 2025. Retrieved 11 January 2025.
52. ^ "Team Falcons Finalize Lineup with HEROIC Trio Pickup". www.strafe.com. 4 January 2025. Retrieved 11 January 2025.
53. ^ "HEROIC on X: "With a heavy heart, we say goodbye to @sjuushCS after 4 unforgettable years. Thank you for everything, Rasmus"". Twitter. 8 January 2025. Retrieved 11 January 2025.
54. ^ "Heroic Announces New CS2 Roster Ahead of BLAST Bounty Tournament - Pley". 10 January 2025. Retrieved 11 January 2025.

## External links

[edit]

* Official website

* v
* t
* e

Counter-Strike in esports

Games|

* Counter-Strike
* Condition Zero
* Source
* Online
* Global Offensive
* Counter-Strike 2

Tournaments|

* BLAST Premier
* DreamHack
* ELeague
* ESEA League
* ESL
* ESL Pro League
* Intel Extreme Masters
* Esports World Cup
* FACEIT
* International Esports Federation
* PGL

| Majors|

* Jönköping 2013
* Katowice 2014
* Cologne 2014
* Jönköping 2014
* Katowice 2015
* Cologne 2015
* Cluj-Napoca 2015
* Columbus 2016
* Cologne 2016
* Atlanta 2017
* Kraków 2017
* Boston 2018
* London 2018
* Katowice 2019
* Berlin 2019
* Rio 2020 (cancelled)
* Stockholm 2021
* Antwerp 2022
* Rio 2022
* Paris 2023
* Copenhagen 2024
* Shanghai 2024
* Austin 2025
* Budapest 2025

|

Defunct|

* BLAST Pro Series
* Championship Gaming Series
* Cyberathlete Professional League
* Esports World Convention
* World Cyber Games
* World e-Sports Games
* World Electronic Sports Games
* World Series of Video Games
* X Games

Notable teams|

| Europe|

* ALTERNATE aTTaX
* Astralis
* Aurora
* Copenhagen Wolves
* ENCE
* Eternal Fire
* Team Falcons
* FaZe Clan
* Fnatic
* G2 Esports
* GamerLegion
* Heroic
* MOUZ
* Natus Vincere
* Ninjas in Pyjamas
* OG
* Team SoloMid
* Team Spirit
* Team Vitality
* Virtus.pro

|

Americas|

* Complexity
* Furia
* Imperial
* MIBR
* Immortals Gaming Club
* NRG
* paiN
* Team Liquid

Asia/Oceania|

* Deep Cross Gaming
* FlyQuest

Defunct|

* 100 Thieves
* Cloud9
* Counter Logic Gaming
* Dignitas
* Echo Fox
* Epsilon Esports
* Evil Geniuses
* Flipside Tactics
* FunPlus Phoenix
* Gambit Esports
* Gen.G
* Godsent
* LDLC OL
* Luminosity Gaming
* Misfits Gaming
* North
* OpTic Gaming
* Renegades
* Selfless Gaming
* SK Gaming
* Space Soldiers
* Splyce
* Talon Esports
* Team 3D
* Team Envy
* Tempo Storm
* Titan
* Vega Squadron
* Vici Gaming

Notable commentators|

* Anders Blume
* Paul "Redeye" Chaloner
* Eefje "Sjokz" Depoortere
* Sean "sgares" Gares
* Richard Lewis
* Joe Miller

* v
* t
* e

Rocket League Championship Series

Teams|

| North America|

* Complexity
* Gen.G Mobil1 Racing
* NRG Esports
* Shopify Rebellion
* Spacestation Gaming

|

Europe|

* Dignitas
* Karmine Corp
* NIP
* Renault Vitality

South America|

* FURIA Esports
* Team Secret

MENA|

* Team Falcons

Oceania|

* Chiefs Esports Club
* TSM

APAC|

* Virtus.pro
* Yokohama F. Marinos

Former|

* Cloud9
* FaZe Clan
* FlipSid3 Tactics
* G2 Esports
* GamerLegion
* Giants Gaming
* Guild Esports
* LOUD
* Luminosity Gaming
* Moist Esports
* Rogue
* OG
* PWR
* Team Envy/OpTic Gaming
* Team Liquid
* Tokyo Verdy
* XSET

Players|

* Turbopolsa

Seasons|

* 2025

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