Heroic removes niko and b0RUP, adds two MAD Lions players

Fariha Bhatti Published 26/02/2021

Heroic has made some significant changes to its roster, moving Johannes “b0RUP” Borup and Nikolaj “⁠niko⁠” Kristensen to the bench effective immediately. The organization has already found replacements in Rasmus “⁠sjuush⁠” Beck and Ismail “⁠refrezh⁠” Ali of MAD Lions.

Heroic enjoyed a surge in relevance with the start of the online era. Casper “⁠cadiaN⁠” Møller and company transformed into a force to be reckoned with, taking matches against the likes of Team Vitality, Astralis, and OG. Their most notable performance was in ESL One Cologne 2020 Europe, where the Danes booted Team Vitality in a one-sided win. A similar showing followed in DreamHack Open Fall 2020 with Heroic beating the Frenchmen 3-2. After breezing into top 10 of the world ranking, the team slid back into its previous place with mediocre results in a number of events.

After 10 months, the organization has finally decided to tweak its active roster. Long-standing members b0RUP and niko will be replaced by MAD LIONS duo refrezh and sjuush. 

“I would like to give thanks to both Nikolaj and Johannes for their hard work in Heroic, we achieved goals we could only dream of. I wish them the best of luck moving forward.” CadiaN said. 

Heroic signs Mad Lions duo refrezh and sjuush to CSGO roster

While Heroic’s overall performance has been solid, the team was lacking in the firepower department. niko and b0RUP’s contributions to the kill feeds were underwhelming, with an average rating under 1.03. In most tournaments, in-game leader cadiaN easily topped the scoreboard despite calling the shots mid-game. The IGL has said that the new additions will likely help the roster grow into a top-class team. 

“We have had a successful run with the last roster but we feel that we can come even further with these changes to the team. I’m very excited to see this happen, and I’m confident both new players will work great in Heroic.” He said. 

The press release says that sjuush will take on the support role in Heroic, which implies that refrezh will be opening sites as an entry-fragger. With two fresh rifles, Heroic’s roster certainly will be a team to watch in its debut in ESL Pro League Season 13, which starts on March 8. 

Heroic’s revamped roster for ESL Pro League Season 13:

• Casper “⁠cadiaN⁠” Møller
• Martin “⁠stavn⁠” Lund
• René “⁠TeSeS⁠” Madsen
• Rasmus “⁠sjuush⁠” Beck
• Ismail “⁠refrezh⁠” Ali

Fariha Bhatti

About Fariha Bhatti

Fariha Bhatti is a long-time gaming writer who loves competitive FPS games and slots with particularly fun themes. She got her start playing classic games developed by SNK, from legendary fighting game series The King of Fighters to challenging platform franchise Metal Slug. She now spends most of her time playing Valorant and Counter-Strike 2 while working her way through new slot releases to find her next favorite. Fariha has been published at PCGamesN, TalkEsport and ONE Esports.

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