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Heroic Travel to IEM Cologne Without Head Coach HUNDEN

Heroic Travel to IEM Cologne Without Head Coach HUNDEN

The Danish esports organization, Heroic, announced their CS:GO coach HUNDEN won't' be traveling with the players to Germany.

The Danish esports organization, Heroic, announced their Counter-Strike: Global Offensive head coach Nicolai “HUNDEN” Petersen won’t’ be traveling with the players to Germany. Replacing HUNDEN as Heroic’s coach will be performance Coach Troels “robl” Robl.

HUNDEN Linked With Astralis

Although Heroic haven’t given the reason for HUNDEN’s absence, it likely has something to do with HUNDEN’s possible departure from the Danish esports organization. The Danish strategist has been tied with a move to Astralis as a potential replacement for Danny “zonic” Sørensen.

Zonic has been a member of Astralis since January 2016, when the Danish CS:GO squad was first formed. He was previously the head coach of Team Questionmark, the core of which would later join Astralis.

Since joining Astralis, zonic won four CS:GO Major Championship titles, solidifying Astralis as the most decorated team in CS:GO esports history.

Success, however, was hard to come by in 2021, with Astralis failing to win a single tournament.
Astralis’ lack of success and rumored disagreements with the management led zonic to question his future with the team. As revealed on Sunday, zonic is still deciding whether to extend his contract or call it quits on his coaching career.

Zonic’s contract with Astralis runs out on December 31. With zonic’s future at the team in the air, Astralis have been looking for a possible replacement, with HUNDEN reportedly on Astralis’ shortlist as their potential coach for the 2022 season.

HUNDEN’s Illustrious Career

Seeing HUNDEN linked with a move to the most successful CS:GO team in history isn’t that surprising. The Danish strategist has had a very successful career as a head coach at Heroic, who he joined in April 2020.

HUNDEN began his esports career in 2009 as a player in CS: Source. In 2012, he transitioned to CS:GO and has since played for some of the best teams in the scene.

Throughout his 11-year career as a CS pro player, HUNDEN played for 22 teams and eventually decided to call it quits in April 2020. Shortly after retiring from professional play, HUNDEN transitioned to coaching with Heroic.

HUNDEN joined Heroic on April 29, 2020, and he didn’t need long to make a name for himself. The Dane led Heroic to the title of ESL One: Cologne 2020 Online – Europe champions, just four months into his coaching stint.

Shortly after winning the title, HUNDEN received a 12-month ban from ESL for exploiting the spectator bug. His punishment was later reduced to eight months, allowing HUNDEN to return to action in April 2021.

Since re-joining Heroic as their head coach, HUNDEN failed to win a single trophy. However, he has led Heroic to a third-fourth place finish at DreamHack Masters Spring 2021.

Despite playing without their head coach throughout 2021, Heroic did not fail to impress. The Danes failed to win a single silverware outside of ESL Pro League Season 13; however, the team consistently delivered in top-tier tournaments.

Heroic finished top-four at cs_summit 7, BLAST Premier: Spring Showdown 2021, and the DreamHack Masters Spring 2021. To that, they added a fourth-place finish at Flashpoint Season 3 in May.

Heroic Eyeing IEM Cologne Title

Heroic will travel to IEM Cologne as the fourth-highest-rated team in the world and one of the main betting favorites to claim the trophy. Their journey to the title and the lion’s share of the $1,000,000 prize pool begins on Friday, July 9.

As one of the highest-rated teams at the tournament, Heroic received a direct bye into the IEM Cologne Group Stage. They were placed in Group B alongside Natus Vincere, Astralis, and FURIA Esports.

Group A will feature Gambit Esports, Team Liquid, Virtus.pro, and G2 Esports.

IEM Cologne 2021 Outright Betting Odds

Odds courtesy of BetOnline Sportsbook:

  • Gambit Esports +300
  • Natus Vincere +300
  • G2 Esports +700
  • Heroic +800
  • Team Vitality +900
  • OG +1000
  • Virtus.pro +1100
  • Ninjas in Pyjamas +1200
  • Astralis +1300
  • FURIA Esports +1500
  • BIG +1500
  • Complexity +1500
  • Team Liquid +1700
  • Team Spirit +1700
  • Evil Geniuses +1700