Heroic coach Hunden is missing from official IEM Cologne lineup

Fariha Bhatti Published 05/07/2021

Heroic’s coach Nicolai “⁠HUNDEN⁠” Petersen will be missing the seventh iteration of IEM Cologne, the first international LAN event for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.

Heroic is one of the top eights teams directly qualifying for IEM Cologne, and the organization has made some significant changes in the leadership roles ahead of the event. The team has revealed its backroom staff for IEM Cologne, and Hunden’s name didn’t make the list. 

HLTV has confirmed that the coach won’t be attending IEM Cologne 2021 in Heroic’s colors. Instead, the team will have two different coaches to keep the players in check. The organization has revealed that players will be accompanied by Mental & Performance Coach Troels “robl” Robl and Physiotherapist & Osteopath Kasper Straube. 

“We feel great about having Troels in our starting line-up! This is the same set-up as when we won Pro League which gives us a lot of confidence. Heroic is well prepared, and our entire team is super excited for being back on LAN!” team in-game leader Casper “cadiaN” Møller said.

Is Heroic’s coach Hunden joining Astralis?

The news comes amid the rumors of Danny “⁠zonic⁠” Sørensen stepping down from his coaching position in Astralis. Zonic has been the driving force behind many of Astralis’ victories, and now players expect an equally distinguished coach to fill in for him. The reports of Hunden replacing zonic in Astralis were quite rife, and this news surely hints that there’s no smoke without fire. 

• zonic may leave Astralis and take multiple players with him
  

Hunden recently assumed control of the coach’s office after serving his suspension period for exploiting the infamous coach bug. The Danish team had risen through the ranks and burst into the top 10 world rankings with Hunden. His temporary departure left a dent in the team’s performance, but CadiaN led squad managed to regain composure once Hunden returned. 

With Hunden as part of the team, Heroic emerged as the new Danish powerhouse in 2020, snatching the ESL One Cologne trophy from the grasp of bigger teams. This victory initiated Heroic’s run against some of the best teams in the world, finally earning it the fourth spot in the world ranking. Hunden played a crucial role in Heroic’s breakthrough, so the news of his potential departure is disappointing for the fans of the Danish counter-strike. 

The organization hasn’t explicitly commented on Hunden sitting out IEM Cologne. Thus, a proper reason is still unknown. However, Pundits are suggesting that he’ll likely move to Astralis to revive the squad for 2021. With Hunden out of Heroic, it’ll be interesting to see how the team retains its ranking with new coaches. 

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.

View full profile

Read Also

Counter-Strike

IEM Cologne Major 2026 CS2 Stage 3 Pick’Em Predictions Owen Harsono It’s that time of the year again, as the next Counter-Strike 2 Major is right around the corner. The IEM Cologne 2026 Major is set to start on June 2, meaning you still have some time to lock in your Pick’Em predictions. The Pick’Em Challenge is one of the most exciting parts of the CS2 Majors, as it allows you to test your knowledge and predict which teams make it ...

Counter-Strike

Team Spirit concede just 10 rounds in Stage 2 of the IEM Cologne Major Owen Harsono It was pretty weird seeing Team Spirit having to start the IEM Cologne Major from Stage 2, but they quickly proved why that was a mistake. With donk shooting on all fronts, the Eastern Europeans speed ran the competition to book their spot in Stage 3. With how they’ve been playing, it’s hard not to wonder whether they can actually win the entire thing. These boys can sometimes be known ...

Counter-Strike

BIG pull off 0-12 comeback to stay alive – IEM Cologne Major Stage 1 recap Owen Harsono We’ve just witnessed arguably the worst choke in Counter-Strike Major history, and we’re only on the first stage of the IEM Cologne Major. If you didn’t tune into the Stage 1 matches, here’s what you need to know heading into Stage 2. Many fans tend to underestimate Stage 1 teams for fair reasons, but some survivors in this tournament look extremely promising. Two Eastern European teams, BetBoom Team and B8, ...

Counter-Strike

Who will win the IEM Cologne Major 2026? Owen Harsono If you’re looking to play it safe and back one team at the Counter-Strike 2 IEM Cologne 2026 Major, traders prediction markets platforms have a clear frontrunner – it’s Team Vitality. But if it’s not meant to be, there are a few other candidates that could lift the trophy. Here’s what traders on Polymarket and Kalshi think. If you haven’t been watching CS2 this year and are only jumping on ...

Counter-Strike

The 10 best CS2 players who have never won a Major Owen Harsono In Counter-Strike, winning a Major immediately puts you into legend status. It’s an achievement that proves you won the game’s biggest trophy. However, there have been some really good players that could never get their hands on the biggest trophy that Counter-Strike esports has to offer. Here is WIN.gg's list of best CS2 players who have never won a Major. ScreaM is one of Counter-Strike's most famous players for one ...

Counter-Strike

IEM Cologne Major 2026: All the teams, favorites, and outright betting odds Owen Harsono Mark your calendars, as the IEM Cologne Major kicks off on June 2, 2026. We’re going to see the best teams in the world compete, but which ones are actually favored to take the title? This will be the first time in 10 years that IEM Cologne will return as a Counter-Strike Major, so the stakes this year are much higher than they’ve been in a decade. In this guide, ...

Esports Betting

All IEM Cologne winners and rosters in Counter-Strike history Owen Harsono IEM Cologne is one of Counter-Strike’s biggest events, happening every single year. Some seasons, the event is labeled as one of Valve’s two Counter-Strike Majors of the year, but if not, still stands as one of the big events every player chases to win. With the IEM Cologne 2026 Major right around the corner, let’s take a trip down memory lane and check out every single winner of the tournament, ...