How can Heroic replace cadiaN?

We look at the myriad of options available to Heroic as they try and solve a puzzle of their own making.

Casper "⁠cadiaN⁠" Møller was HEROIC. He was their emotional backbone, the AWPer, and the tactical mastermind behind the team that defined the post-COVID meta of CS:GO.

In the wake of his departure, HEROIC have some huge shoes to fill and there are many ways to do so, just not one that is straightforward. There is no obvious one-to-one replacement, no Danish AWPing in-game leader who is capable of slotting into HEROIC with ease.

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Heroic bench cadiaN due to "differing visions for the future"

So as we put on our GM hats, we'll be taking the roundabout route. If they stick to Danish — and it seems probable that they will — we estimate that HEROIC have four realistic options:

1. Make existing player the IGL, sign a new AWPer
2. Move stavn to AWP, sign a new rifling IGL
3. Move stavn to AWP, existing player to IGL, sign a new entry
4. Move stavn to AWP, jabbi to pack, sign a new lurker

Roles have always been fairly superfluous in HEROIC, who — in cadiaN's system — required all four players to swap roles within the same round based on protocols and the situation. Rasmus "⁠sjuush⁠" Beck and Jakob "⁠jabbi⁠" Nygaard are the two extremity players on paper, but would often be part of map control or entry packs as well. That allows for more options and role combinations than our four; these are just the ones that are most likely.

Nearly all of our options feature a hefty role shift for Martin "⁠stavn⁠" Lund, who was cadiaN's lieutenant in both the calling and AWPing departments in the old roster and proved more than capable in both. Double AWPing has fallen out of the meta in more recent times and so he has used the gun more sparsely, but stavn got 10% of his kills with the Big Green from 2018-21 when it was more in fashion.

It is not ideal to adjust the role of your team's best player to this degree, and we have seen the likes of Mareks "⁠YEKINDAR⁠" Gaļinskis, Jake "⁠Stewie2K⁠" Yip and Denis "⁠electroNic⁠" Sharipov struggle in the transition from vice captain to full-time IGL duties.

This might be part of why sjuush has also been rumored to be an option for IGL within the HEROIC core, one that would maintain stavn as the star more easily. Still, there aren't many players who successfully made a transition to full-time AWPing in the middle of their careers, and if that is what stavn ends up doing it is inevitably going to come with some growing pains.

Option 1: A new AWPer

Option one is the least disruptive to stavn in-game, making him or sjuush IGL but keeping the rifling structure intact. That means all we need to replace of cadiaN is his AWPing, so here is a shortlist of the best Danish AWPers.

Nicolai "⁠device⁠" Reedtz is almost certainly out of reach, forcing us to look a tier below at the likes of Asger "⁠Farlig⁠" Jensen, Nico "⁠nicoodoz⁠" Tamjidi, Philip "⁠Lucky⁠" Ewald and Frederik "⁠acoR⁠" Gyldstrand. These are all players that have had their chance at tier one and not quite grabbed it, and HEROIC should probably not be the place for them to get a second one.

The AWPers in the tier below that, the unproven ones who have never had a shot at tier one, are also fairly risky bets. Theis "⁠J3nsyy⁠" Jensen, Jason "⁠salazar⁠" Salazar, and Kristoffer "⁠Kristou⁠" Aamand will all take a long time to get to grips with tier one and are not exactly lighting up their current competition either.

But there is a stand-out here: Iulian "⁠regali⁠" Harjău. The Romanian AWPer speaks Danish, and has been the bright spark in OG's ailing roster with a 1.09 rating. He is no ready-made superstar either, but at 21 years old there is room to grow and he should be on HEROIC's shortlist.

Verdict: Only worth it for regali or device.

Option 2: A new in-game leader

Onto option two, the first with stavn as the AWPer. This is the one where HEROIC sign a new IGL at the same time as they replace stavn's rifling firepower, a tall task.

Denmark still has a thriving tier two scene, with upcomers like Patrick "⁠Patti⁠" Larsen, Marcus "⁠maNkz⁠" Kjeldsen, and Thomas "⁠TMB⁠" Bundsbæk emerging as solid young captains. But, like with the AWPers, HEROIC might prefer more proven options, many of which are unattainable.

Benjamin "⁠blameF⁠" Bremer, Marco "⁠Snappi⁠" Pfeiffer, Finn "⁠karrigan⁠" Andersen, and Rasmus "⁠HooXi⁠" Nielsen are, as far as we know, not going anywhere. Valdemar "⁠valde⁠" Bjørn Vangså is leading TSM but only just joined. Emil "⁠Magisk⁠" Reif has captained Astralis for periods but will prove just as hard to sign as the likes of Snappi.

This leaves Lukas "⁠gla1ve⁠" Rossander as the only truly viable option. He is a four-time Major winner, the player that sparked an Astralis core know for mental fragility into the greatest team of all time. He also plays a lot of stavn's positions, liking to rotate on CT side and roam on T.

gla1ve's stock has fallen a great deal since 2020, becoming a bit of a passenger as Astralis tumbled down the rankings. But could HEROIC re-ignite the spark we know is in there? IGLs are not like star players — they should, in theory, get better as they age. If he is motivated, HEROIC could do far worse.

Verdict: Risky, but gla1ve might be the best option.

Option 3: A new Opener

The main issue with signing a rifling IGL is the firepower deficit. If stavn moves to the AWP, the pack of HEROIC is severely weakened by any signing that is not blameF — who just renewed with Astralis through 2025.

Beyond him, HEROIC are looking at the likes of Kristian "⁠k0nfig⁠" Wienecke, Fredrik "⁠roeJ⁠" Jørgensen, and Peter "⁠dupreeh⁠" Rasmussen as tier one options in the entry pack. None have shown great form individually in 2023, but they do have the ability to shine in more favorable roles.

Unlocking k0nfig has proven a difficult task for any IGL since his days in Dignitas, but he is the option here with the most raw firepower and might be worth a gamble.

dupreeh is a serial winner, and has been rumored as a possible stand-in option for HEROIC, but is at the stage of his career where he is more of a supportive element. His signing would require jumps in performance from jabbi and one of René "⁠TeSeS⁠" Madsen and sjuush to make up the firepower deficit.

Verdict: k0nfig or dupreeh best of a bad bunch.

Option 4: A new Closer

The final option is one that makes use of HEROIC's riflers' versatility and puts jabbi back in the entry pack where he plied his trade for Copenhagen Flames. This lets HEROIC search for a new lurker, a position that is more stocked with young Danish talent than the entry pack. The same effect could be achieved with sjuush moving to the IGL, and the roaming pack roles that came with it.

Either way, the options here are more fruitful. Alexander "⁠Altekz⁠" Givskov did not set the world alight in his short stint in Astralis' main team but has been exceptional online in 2023 with Astralis Talent and now Preasy. His aggressive style of lurking, with high trading stats, would suit the cadiaN-style HEROIC very well.

Rasmus "⁠Zyphon⁠" Nordfoss is also an option. Like Victor "⁠Staehr⁠" Staehr, he suffered with the roster turmoil in Sprout since IEM Rio but in the new Ihor "⁠w0nderful⁠" Zhdanov lineup he has posted a 1.13 rating to remind us of his potential.

The likes of Mikkel "⁠n1Xen⁠" Borlund and Anton "⁠Anlelele⁠" Huynh are also options, if HEROIC want to gamble on even more raw talent that can be moulded as stavn or sjuush see fit.

But, one of Zyphon or Altekz would provide the most firepower out of the gate and could fit into a HEROIC system well.

Verdict: Altekz or Zyphon both viable options.

The cadiaN condundrum

We do not yet know what type of team the new HEROIC will be, but it seems likely they will keep much of cadiaN's blueprint. If they do, moving stavn to AWP could be their best option — the IGL duties will be kept in-house with stavn or sjuush, and it would be easier to get a young, flexible, rifler up to speed than a star AWPer or for the existing members to get used to a new IGL.

But, that is not the only route. Options like gla1ve or dupreeh might provide the experience and winning mentality to break through HEROIC's glass ceiling. k0nfig could provide a x-factor and some maverick starpower. regali could show us what a cadiaN system could look like with a more selfish star AWPer.

The question HEROIC will have to answer is if any of these options are better than keeping cadiaN would have been. k0nfig or Altekz could have joined as refreshers to cadiaN's HEROIC rather than as elements of a full rebuild, or they could have tried to solve their internal issues without a roster change at all.

Instead, they have ripped the band-aid off. cadiaN's time is over, and now it is time for his disciples to reform his Counter-Strike religion.