Hunden retires, moves to new coaching role at Heroic
Nicolai “HUNDEN” Petersen has announced that he has retired from professional Counter-Strike: Global Offensive as a player, and will transition into a coaching role with Heroic.
The vetrab player spent the his last months of active playing with the newly-formed MAD Lions squad before being replaced as the team’s in-game leader by Asger “AcilioN” Larsen.
HUNDEN took his removal from the team he had helped lead to FLASHPOINT 1, asking those speculating about his removal and purported feud with AcilioN to stop:
Me and
@AcilioNcs
is good friends. The day i was benched me and Asger even had a beer. So we are friends, and it was for the greater good that Asger joined
@MADLions_CSEN
:)
I dont understand why we need this HUNDEN vs. AcilioN. Can we please stop it now and move on?✌️
#goMAD
— Nicolai Petersen (@hundencsgo)
April 21, 2020
Early reports had indicated that that HUNDEN would stay with the MAD Lions organization, but his addition to Heroic was announced in a
blog post
from Heroic’s official website. Heroic looked primed for success after the November addition of Kasper “cadian” Møller, but the roster suffered a setback when its planned sale to Counter-Strike newcomer Funplus Phoenix fell through. Heroic’s Patrick “es3tag” Hansen would go on to become Astralis’ sixth player in its new experiementation with the concept, leaving Heroic in a bind and the transfer to FPX in shambles.
HUNDEN leaves behind an almost six-year carrer as a Counter-Strke pro, but the tranistion into a coaching role is the next obvious step for a player whose leadership inside and outside the server has been prasied by fellow players and organizations alike.
HUNDEN will now join forces with cadian, a well-respected in-game leader in his own right, in helming a Heroic squad that has recently added René “TeSeS” Madsen and Nikolaj “niko” Kristensen to fill its open spots. The new roster and coach will make their debut at the Elisa Invitational on May 1.
The regional tournament should provide insight into what the new look Heroic can do, with attendees all right around Heroic’s current skill level. GODSENT, ENCE, North, and Digitas will all be in attendance, alongside regional teams like Nordavind, Apeks, and Kova.
HUNDEN seemed genuinely happy after the news was public:
“Finally I took the step that I’ve wanted to take for so long… Im looking forward to do what im best at, and that is using my brain and [creating]a masterplan to make Heroic shine, and finally make them go deep in the rankings again,” HUNDEN said.
Both HUNDEN and Heroic will get their chance on May 1 in their opening match against North.
M Alzamora
About M Alzamora
There are few things that writer M Alzamora loves more in life than Pokemon. And there are even fewer things that she loves more than her favorite Pokemon, Eevee. But M’s appreciation for gaming isn’t just limited to Nintendo’s famous pocket monsters. She’s interested in every type of game across every genre of gaming, and she has the credentials to prove it. M’s work has also been seen on Working Classicists and gaming sites.
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