HUNDEN: "I'm happy with what I have done for Danish CS, and some parts of German CS as well"

Nicolai "⁠HUNDEN⁠" Petersen shared his thoughts on retiring as a player, the legacy he leaves behind, and the transition to a coaching role with HEROIC.

The decision from MAD Lions to bench HUNDEN at the start of March and effectively forfeit a spot in the Europe Minor Closed Qualifier was a controversial one, leading to a lot of criticism towards the team and their players, but the 28-year-old in-game leader admits that he didn't feel motivated to play anymore and says he "hated to see all the hostility" from the community that followed.

HUNDEN's best achievement as a player is the V4 Future Sports Festival win, but he notes that picking up and developing talent in Denmark, and to some degree, Germany, is what he is proudest of.

With HEROIC, HUNDEN is ready to take the next step in his career, assuming the role of the head coach. The tactician is hoping to bring back the "old Nikolaj "⁠niko⁠" Kristensen", and build around him and the two youngsters on the team - Johannes "⁠b0RUP⁠" Borup and Martin "⁠stavn⁠" Lund. Currently ranked 27th in the world, HEROIC are a "perfect start" for HUNDEN, he says, as he still needs to prove himself in the coach role, regardless of his history as an in-game leader.

A few weeks after you stepped down from MAD Lions, you stated the reason cause was your struggle with personal issues which led to you becoming unmotivated to "grind" CS. With that in mind, what did you think of the community's reaction to the news, most of them taking your side and criticizing your former team?

I hated to see all the hostility towards the MAD Lions team. The team is six great guys and the management behind MAD Lions is even greater. I'm happy to see them perform well and say "fuck all the haters, we will not fuck this team up".

Is this the end of HUNDEN as a player? If so, what caused you to hang up the mouse?

This is the end of HUNDEN as a player. I quit because I don't feel motivated to spend the extra hours on DM, FACEIT PUGs, etc. any longer. It's a really hard job to be a top player. You have to be at 110% close to 11 months each year. You never have time to chill, you never have time to take any days off, if you do that, your next enemy might be a step in front of you.

Are you happy with what you achieved as a player? What do you think of your legacy in CS?

I'm really happy that I finally got an achievement on my player profile on HLTV. But in general, I'm happy with what I have done for Danish CS, and some parts of German CS as well. I'm proud of myself, with all the talents I picked up and taught how to approach Danish CS.

I always wanted to create a good team. I did that with MAD Lions. I'm happy, we created a new Danish top team - it was needed for Danish CS, it was needed for the world. We took the fight with number two and three in Denmark, we dodged all the lineup changes and just kept on grinding as a team - thanks to everyone from MAD Lions/Tricked!

Picking up talented players seems to be your specialty, so it is curious to see you join Heroic after they completed their lineup. How come you joined so late? Were you involved in the additions of TeSeS and niko in any way?

I joined this late because I wanted to stay "off" and get as much motivation as possible before I went back on the server. But seeing this talented lineup, I needed to go when they called me. It was an obvious one for me.

I didn't pick up TeSeS and niko, but If I had a team that needed two new players, I would go for both niko and TeSeS. I'm happy to have TeSeS here, he failed a little bit in OpTic, but he started to shine in Flames again - I hope I can find the solution and make him the star player he can be.

About niko - I picked him up back in 2016, we have been really good friends since he left for Heroic the first time. So we wanted to work together again at some point: I hope we can find a bit of the "old niko" again. If we can do that - we have such a strong core in niko, TeSeS, and stavn.

Coaches are usually categorized as either tactical or motivational ones. Where do you lean, what will you focus on in Heroic?

I think the last part of my CS career was too emotional. I want to motivate my boys, but my strongest thing will definitely be the tactical part. I love structure and a good gameplan/playbook, so I'm going to push the young boys so hard to get to a higher level as quickly as possible.

I like to cheer when we win rounds, as does cadiaN, so I'm looking forward to hype the boys during some crazy LAN fights!

Putting Astralis aside, the Danish scene is pretty competitive with MAD Lions, North, and even Copenhagen Flames. How long do you think it will take you and Heroic to reach the #2 spot in the country?

It looks like we have four teams who can fight for that number two spot in Denmark. All the teams have some special strengths.

MAD Lions have peacemaker, who is a genius in preparing for games and a genius in finding and creating new strats. And they got so much firepower.

North have MSL, he might be the second-best caller in Denmark at the moment - since I decided to quit. He is a smart guy and is always hard to play against because his mid-round calling is always on point.

CPH Flames, every time they sell a player they can find a new talent apparently. Their strength might be the hunger, they are motivated to beat all three teams above them.

Heroic, we are a young talented team, with a different approach in the IGL from cadiaN. We have close to the same firepower as MAD Lions. They might be two steps ahead right now, but with hard work and dedication, we will give both North and MAD Lions a fight for their money!

In an earlier interview, you said that if you were to coach, you were looking for a team that you can help win a Major by next year. Looking at this Heroic squad, barely in the top 30, not many would say they are capable of that. What do you think this five-man lineup can realistically achieve? And what goals have you set for yourself as a coach?

That might have been a cocky answer. I think Heroic can end up being the perfect start for me, being ranked 27th in the world. We need to improve a lot, and I need to prove that I know how to coach, and not be the captain any longer.

There is a lot of work in front of me. I need to show the world I also know how to do a coaching job, before I can win Major titles with a team! I want to win big events as a coach!