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Counter-Strike: Global Offensive coach Nicolai “HUNDEN” Petersen has announced that he will not be extending his contract with Heroic. This confirms last month’s rumors of HUNDEN’s departure from the Danish esports organization.
HUNDEN Confirms Heroic Exit
HUNDEN has decided not to extend his contract with Heroic, the 30-year-old revealed on Wednesday, July 28. The Dane has unveiled that he will not look to remain with the team once his contract runs out.
Instead, HUNDEN will seek to begin a new chapter in his life. However, he has not revealed his plans for the future or when his contract will Heroic will end.
“In the past few months, I have been in negotiations with Heroic about a contract renewal, but I have come to the realization that I wish to begin a new chapter of my career once my contract with Heroic expires,” said HUNDEN.
HUNDEN’s decision, however, doesn’t come off as a shock as there were rumors about HUNDEN’s possible departure from the team. The Danish strategist has also decided not to travel with Heroic to Germany for the IEM Cologne 2021 in June.
The organization and HUNDEN have not shared the reason behind HUNDEN’s decision not to join his team in Germany. Instead, Heroic used their performance coach Troels “robl” Robl, as a replacement head coach.
Heroic ended up placing seventh-eighth in Cologne. They won against Team Spirit and FURIA Esports but suffered elimination in the final round of the group stage against the eventual semi-finalists, FaZe Clan.
What’s Next For HUNDEN?
HUNDEN has not shared any details about his plans for the future. However, some rumors tie him with another Danish esports organization, Astralis, where he is expected to replace Danny “zonic” Sørensen.
The rumors of HUNDEN replacing zonic as the new head coach of Astralis began after zonic unveiled he might not extend his contract with the team. At this moment, however, there is nothing that would confirm nor deny those claims.
Before HUNDEN announced his decision to leave Heroic, he has found himself under fire from the esports community, accusing him of sharing Heroic’s stratbook with other teams. Although HUNDEN denied the claims, it seems likely that those accusations led to his decision to leave the team.
“Heroic and I have been a perfect match, but the recent turn of events is deeply regrettable,” said HUNDEN.
“Recent rumors claim that I have shared Heroic’s stratbook. This I can categorically deny. I have the biggest respect for Heroic, and I would never want to harm the team or in any way affect them negatively.”
While HUNDEN stated that he had not shared Heroic’s stratbook, he has confirmed that he exchanged some information with colleagues from other teams. The shared material in question was only “anti-strat,” which HUNDEN believes could not have harmed Heroic’s chances of success at the international event.
Heroic Seek A New Coach
HUNDEN has been a part o Heroic for over a year, having joined the Danish esports organization in April 2020 as a replacement for Frederik “LOMME” Nielsen. As a coach and analyst for the team, HUNDEN has helped Heroic blossom into one of the strongest CS:GO teams in the scene.
With Heroic, HUNDEN won ESL One Cologne and DreamHack Open Fall. Heroic continued with strong showings early into 2021, winning ESL Pro League Season 13.
However, ESL Pro League Season 13 was Heroic’s first and last tournament title of the year. The Danes’ best tournament placement since include two top-four finishes at BLAST Premier: Spring Showdown 2021 and the DreamHack Masters Spring 2021.
In May, Heroic finished fourth at Flashpoint Season 3 but struggled to deliver at the two succeeding Intel Extreme Masters events. Heroic placed ninth-12th at IEM XVI –Summer and most recently seventh-eighth at IEM Cologne.
With HUNDEN confirmed to leave Heroic, the Danish esports organization is now looking for a new coach. Heroic has yet to comment on HUNDEN’s departure.