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.

Heroic has changed its line-up for IEM Cologne.

Our team will be accompanied by Mental & Performance Coach Troels “robl” Robl and Physical Coach Kasper Straube.

Read More: https://t.co/FJ4Uk8DQy2 #BeHeroic pic.twitter.com/1sDHMZojI7
— HEROIC (@heroicgg) July 5, 2021

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.

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