DBL PONEY sign with HEET

The French side has finally found a home after competing without backing for almost a year.

The DBL PONEY roster around Alexandre "⁠bodyy⁠" Pianaro has signed with HEET, a Belgian organization that entered esports in 2021 with the signing of a VALORANT division.

The French squad, who were in or around the top 30 in the team ranking for the Majority of 2021, finally have a structure to support them for the first time since they burst into the scene in March, initially playing with the likes of Audric "⁠JACKZ⁠" Jug and Nathan "⁠NBK-⁠" Schmitt before settling for the younger Pierre "⁠Ex3rcice⁠" Bulinge as the team's fifth.

DBL PONEY's patience has finally paid off

DBL PONEY became a fan favorite with a strong presence on Twitter and a steady stream of results to back their search for a stable organization as they got into several RMR events while also grinding leagues such as ESEA Premier and online qualifiers, with results good enough to end the year inside the top 30.

One of the qualifiers mentioned above is the one for the upcoming ESL Challenger February tournament, which they won and are now set to play against the likes of Extra Salt, 9z and ORDER, their first under the HEET banner.

"As soon as we started looking into the DBL Poney roster we instantly were convinced that this team would fit into our family," HEET's COO Jasur "Jazz" Avizov said. "A group of 5 friends, grinding to be the best for over a year — without any support from an org — and still getting to the top 30 of HLTV and staying there for a long time shows a great will and desire to succeed. It is exactly these qualities I was always looking for not only from our players but also from our staff members.

"Signing DBL is a huge step for us as an organization, but I am 100% sure that it is the right step. This will be a long-term project for us, which will give us a lot of experience and a lot of possibilities. Our goals for this year is to participate in the major as a contender, maintain our status as the best truly French roster, and push towards the top 15 HLTV rankings."

HEET are:

Alexandre "⁠bodyy⁠" Pianaro
Lucas "⁠Lucky⁠" Chastang
Thomas "⁠Djoko⁠" Pavoni
Pierre "⁠Ex3rcice⁠" Bulinge
Aurélien "⁠afro⁠" Drapier

Matthieu "⁠matHEND⁠" Roquigny (coach)