Heroic has temporarily sidelined two of their star players, Martin “stavn” Lund and Jakob “jabbi” Nygaard, on October 25 due to their desire to move to Astralis, their primary Danish rivals. According to Heroic, this decision arose when jabbi and stavn gave the organization an ultimatum, forcing them to choose between the two of them and their long-standing in-game leader, cadiaN. Heroic ultimately sided with jabbi and stavn, subsequently benching cadiaN shortly after the conclusion of ESL Pro League season 18. Heroic had believed that this move would secure the renewal of contracts with stavn and jabbi, but it now appears that they are inclined to join Astralis instead.
Heroic, in a statement, revealed that “the same day stavn and jabbi were presented with their new contracts, they communicated having made future plans with Astralis. Their Heroic contracts had almost 10 months until expiration. While handling the short-term uncertainty and planning for a long-term solution, Heroic’s ambition is to bring stavn and jabbi back.”
Heroic concluded their statement by implying that they are open to discussing player transfers with organizations that demonstrate a professional approach and a proper understanding of their players’ market value.
This development has left Heroic in a precarious situation as cadiaN was not only their in-game leader but also the face of the team. Losing stavn and jabbi at this juncture would leave Heroic with a weakened roster at the start of the CS2 season.
The timing is particularly unfortunate for Heroic, as there are reports that cadiaN may be joining Team Liquid. If this holds true, Heroic would be unable to reacquire cadiaN and would need to negotiate the departure of stavn and jabbi instead.
Adding to the complexity of the situation, Heroic had recently secured the services of five-time Major champion dupreeh until the end of the year, with the expectation that he would play alongside jabbi and stavn. However, this plan is now highly unlikely to materialize.
Heroic’s CS2 debut, taking place on October 25 against Aurora at the Roobet Cup 2023, will see them fielding MOUZ’s academy players, Christoffer “Chr1zN” Storgaard and William “sirah” Kjærsgaard, in place of stavn and jabbi.