HEROIC issue update on nilo as Maden steps in for Bounty Finals

20-1-2025 16:20

The Montenegrin will be the team's fifth player in Copenhagen.

nilo will have to fight his way back into HEROIC's team

HEROIC have announced that Pavle "⁠Maden⁠" Bošković will be the team's fifth player at the BLAST Bounty Finals, scheduled for January 23-26 in Copenhagen. The Montenegrin will replace Andrey "⁠tN1R⁠" Tatarinovich, who will miss the event due to visa issues.

Meanwhile, HEROIC have provided an update on Linus "⁠nilo⁠" Bergman's status. The Swedish player was signed from Metizport earlier this month in a deal worth at least $175,000 but has yet to feature for the team and was listed as a substitute for the online portion of BLAST Bounty.

According to HEROIC, nilo "encountered personal circumstances that made the significant leap to Tier 1 Counter-Strike particularly challenging at this time." This unexpected development came after the player had already signed a three-year deal with HEROIC.

"While our initial plan was for Linus to be part of the starting line-up, we are committed to supporting him as he works toward his return," HEROIC added.

"Our starting five is locked in and will have the chance to prove themselves. Therefore, Linus will not have a guaranteed spot. He will have to fight his way back onto the team."

Boombl4 and zorte to miss BLAST Bounty S1 Finals due to visa issues

tN1R's absence in Copenhagen will be keenly felt after he played an important role in HEROIC's qualification with an average 1.04 rating in the 2-1 victories over 3DMAX and Liquid. The Belarusian player, signed from GUN5, will make his LAN debut for the team at IEM Katowice.

Maden has been out of action since Falcons' elimination from the Shanghai Major Europe RMR. He was benched after the tournament as part of an off-season roster overhaul, appearing on HEROIC's BLAST Bounty roster as a substitute alongside nilo.

At the BLAST Bounty Finals, the Montenegrin will reunite with Álvaro "⁠SunPayus⁠" García and head coach Eetu "⁠sAw⁠" Saha. The team will attend the event with the following roster:

Yasin "⁠xfl0ud⁠" Koç
Álvaro "⁠SunPayus⁠" García
Linus "⁠LNZ⁠" Holtäng
Simon "⁠yxngstxr⁠" Boije
Pavle "⁠Maden⁠" Bošković (stand-in)

Eetu "⁠sAw⁠" Saha (coach)

nice

2025-01-20 16:21

this is maden's last chance

2025-01-20 16:22

375

41 replies

and will get destroyed by donk

2025-01-20 18:36

2 replies

least dickriding donk "fan"

2025-01-21 08:11

just like everyone else lol ?

2025-01-21 11:23

maden's last paycheck steal u mean?

2025-01-20 20:02

37 replies

Paycheck stealing is such a braindead and juvenile statement to make. The guys are professionals working a full time job, sacrificing time with their families to entertain you. Just because a player didn't win every LAN, or even a single LAN in the calendar year doesn't mean they stole their paycheck. The guys who show up late or not at all, don't practice, are toxic to their team, etc. Those guys are the ones you could say are "stealing paychecks". Like call Boros a paycheck stealer, sure. But this bullshit of any player not maintaining a 1.10+ rating at all times is "stealing" is just inaccurate, stupid, and honestly just pointless to read. Why not comment something of substance instead of just rotting everyone's brain with the same childish dribble every time.

2025-01-21 03:41

36 replies

Not reading all that. Hope it goes well for you tho.

2025-01-21 04:28

9 replies

Can't read all that*

2025-01-28 04:55

8 replies

what are you doing dude

2025-01-28 04:59

7 replies

Did your brain error 404 or something? It's pretty simple.

2025-01-28 23:55

6 replies

are you a week in the past? what is the point of commenting on this, other than to bring it up in the feed i mean before yours, there wasnt a comment since the 25th FOR NO REASON

2025-01-28 23:58

5 replies

Are you feeling okay? I'm not terminally online like you. I was responding to people who were commenting to me. What are you doing here? Talk to a therapist, not me bro.

2025-01-29 00:00

4 replies

just dont necro threads

2025-01-29 00:01

3 replies

You're the one necroing ya brain-dead. I responded to a comment from a day or 2 ago you're sperging out over nothing. I'll comment on what ever I want. If you don't like it get off HLTV. Oh wait.. you can't. 2400+ comments in a few months. On just this account alone. You're embarassing.

2025-01-29 00:05

at least i can read, 7 days, not 2

2025-01-29 00:06

1 reply

That's all you got? Just proving how much more of a life I got than you? You're the reason comment cooldowns exist. Think about that for a minute. Later nerd, enjoy your mald!

2025-01-29 00:10

dont care didnt ask

2025-01-21 06:11

But you took to the time to comment, seems like you care more than a little bit xD

2025-01-21 06:25

Your comment is about as meaningful as your existence.

2025-01-28 05:01

there is recency bias, then there is a constant disappointment in one's performance. Not only was maden at the bottom of the scoreboard on every map they played, but also made absolutely senseless moves and played a massive role in Falcons' losses by practically being the opponents' 6th player. on one hand, maden is definitely struggling from all the hate he is getting, but dude, when you are getting oil money level salary, you must provide at least some value to the team, much less throw every round you play

2025-01-21 09:51

lmao maden is just ex-falcons oil money paycheck stealer and not a single word from your tl;dr statement ain't gonna change that

2025-01-21 18:27

20 replies

What do you mean tl;dr? It's barely 100 words lmfao. I guess this explains your inability to from your own opinions eh? Bro can't even think long enough to have an opinion longer than 2 sentences. Must be a very dull life you live. Then again you're in such steep cognitive decline you probably can't even tell from inside that meat prison of a skull. Uninstall TikTok lil bro. Stop skipping class.

2025-01-28 05:06

19 replies

I've never used tiktok, uninstalling it on every device I use at first. tl;dr means too long, didn't read and stands for shitty opinions like yours, defending maden from being called paycheck stealer. He IS paycheck stealer, cry all you want. also, obviously flag Regards

2025-02-02 20:37

18 replies

What does being Canadian have to do with understanding business and how a professional job works? Is unemployment high in Poland? My regards for the state of your country. Flair checks out. I can see you read, write and form opinions on the level of a first grader. tl;dr actually means you post this exact comment all the time, because you aren't capable of thinking of anything meaningful or valuable. You are just butt hurt I pointed out how dumb you sound. P.S. question about your flag was rhetorical. It's blatantly just illogical defensive behavior because I absolutely eviscerated you, you know it and have no actual response other than to cry like a 12 year old. I feel the need to point this out because it's obvious you are incredibly fucking stupid. Lmfao.

2025-02-03 22:14

17 replies

still tl;dr + flag

2025-02-03 23:13

16 replies

tl;dr just means I'm right and you have nothing to stay because your brain is dead. Thanks again for further confirmation of your mental deficiency.

2025-02-04 02:41

15 replies

stop pretending to be a psychologist, you just have mental issues buddy also, obviously, still - flag Regards

2025-02-04 09:12

14 replies

Theres no psychology involved. The fact that you have no real reply is a common sense conclusion because you've said literally nothing. "stop pretending to be a psychologist" "have mental issues buddy" See? You contradicted yourself in the same sentence. You have to be extremely fucking stupid to do that. I know I know little champ "tl;dr" cuz your mald is over 9000 now.

2025-02-04 16:50

13 replies

you must be real daft but one thing still remains: flag Regards

2025-02-04 22:01

12 replies

I'm daft because you can't create a response? Definition of projecting little bro.

2025-02-05 13:29

11 replies

Yes, you are daft. And obviously one thing doesn't change: flag twattz woke diva countrymen lmao Regards

2025-02-08 04:39

10 replies

Just a friendly reminder you've been malding for 2 weeks now because I provided sound and logical reason as to why you're a fucking dumb ass and you have zero response other than to cry like a 9 year old. Get absolutely fucked loser. :)

2025-02-08 19:19

you're still replying to my replies, I won't reply unless you stop writing your tl;dr stories dude, who is malding now? flag Regards

2025-02-09 13:05

All you can say for 2 weeks is mald and tl;dr. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting a different result. You have just admitted you need therapy.

2025-02-09 18:12

not reading this, go get some meds obviously, flag Regards

2025-02-09 21:23

You absolutely have read every word I typed and malded over all of them. Thanks for telling me I have very successfully battered, or rather completely obliterated your ego. Obviously, brain. Regards.

2025-02-10 06:07

delulu lol flag Regards

2025-02-10 18:25

Your brain isn't even fully developed yet, is it?

2025-02-11 06:22

no u flag Regards

2025-02-12 00:16

tl;dr

2025-02-12 07:00

yes

2025-02-13 01:15

What a great point

2025-01-21 20:34

speedy recovery nilo

Sad

welcome back ence 2023

What is this gibberish from Heroic about nilo? Anyone knows?

Yeah the employer should have just revealed something clearly very personal, sudden and unexpected going on in one of their employees lives. This damn gibberish.. Meds

2025-01-20 16:29

196

He is having personal issues that he cant share and prevent him from playing rn. So they will trial him when he is ready to play to see if he is good enough to replace someone in the team. how is that gibberish

2025-01-20 16:35

wut

2025-01-20 16:23

i cry

wtf

Have a speedy recovery, nilo

Nilo will have to fight his way on the roster... For what...? And bot maden dont have too?

2025-01-20 16:24

maden = jackz in blast world finals

2025-01-20 16:26

Well he seems to just be a substitute

and how do you exactly fight your way into the team if he can’t play?

2025-01-20 16:44

you need to fight tn1R irl

2025-01-20 16:48

Atleast its not a fight vs blamef

2025-01-20 17:47

swedish twink vs belarussian chad

2025-01-20 17:56

Maden is standin, its probably just a PC thing so they dont disrespect the 5 in lineup already playing

2025-01-20 18:13

me when i cant read

2025-01-20 19:48

I can’t tell, so there’s some out of server issues with the transition? Or is he just not performing on a tier 1 level yet?

2025-01-20 16:25

Most likely first thing you wrote

"encountered personal circumstances" out of server issues

2025-01-20 16:27

So they basically wasted 175k, ok

gained like 10 mil in the process so its ok

2025-01-20 16:33

i kinda agree but that doesnt deny what i said, they bought a player for 175k and he's not on active roster, thats a bad asset management

2025-01-20 18:00

nilo is in high demand, even if he sits on heroic's bench they can probably sell him for more than they got him for.

2025-01-20 19:08

They got probably loaded by selling the previous roster so its ok

will probably develop nilo and sell him for over 200k so its ok

2025-01-20 16:50

So based on previous gentlemans statements it's ok

2025-01-20 16:54

nip would pay 600k for him in 3-6 months

2025-01-20 18:45

uhuh, because there's obviously no way he can simply sort out his issues and then start making an impact for the team?

2025-01-20 18:50

old ence&falcons

wonder if it’s something nilo did in terms of his behaviour or something out of his control like family issues etc

2025-01-20 16:28

This seems like he had some bad behaviour towards teammates (?). It is definitely an out of the server issue and not some anxiety, mental health thing. Or maybe his family has some health or other issues which he has to deal with (?).

How are you possibly getting that from this statement?

2025-01-20 18:33

definitely not? tf you on about

2025-01-29 21:13

Malden incoming

2025-01-20 16:31

I think there might actually be something wrong with him and that’s why they said “fight his way back.” I don’t think they meant that he will have to earn his spot. Here’s to hoping is nothing TOO SERIOUS if that’s the case.

There will be a 3 way fight to the death between him, tn1r and maden to secure the spot on the team clearly

2025-01-21 02:04

Nope thats literally exactly what they meant, that his spot isnt guaranteed anymore because it would be unfair to the others on the roster. Its unfortunate hes had some unexpected issues outside of the server to deal with, but they cant just say whenever he comes back(which it seems like, its an unknown time for him to come back) "heres your roster spot back". If we hypothetically said that Maden had a 1.4 rating(like I said..purely hypothetical LUL) in place of Nilo, then Nilo came back...do you think itd befair for them to immediately give Nilo his spot back and tell Maden "sucks to suck" and put him back on the bench..? Of course, hell have to earn, and show that he deserves a spot on the starting 5. Not really surprising, given hes new to the team and isnt a top 10 player or something.

2025-01-21 17:18

Maden survives another day

2025-01-20 16:36

solid downgrade

2025-01-20 16:38

no way nilo loses to maden for a spot

2025-01-20 16:42

well gl maden i guess

2025-01-20 16:43

I guess it makes sense now why they also got Maden as tn1r had visa issues and nilo had personal problems.

2025-01-20 17:01

They probably got maden as part of the deal with falcons as falcons probably didnt want to pay his salary anymore nor they thought theyd get any significant money. I dont think they got maden knowing tn1r will have visa issues

2025-01-20 22:35

I mean belarussian player who was stuck on some random t3 CIS squad. Not a surprise to have visa issues especially with the fiasco that happened with degster. On top of that now nilo also has personal issues that are forcing him to step back and Heroic might have known that, but didnt speak of it until the visa issues came up and nilo still has to sit on the bench. I guess with how everything ended up it wasnt a bad idea to get Maden as another substitute in case of a realistic emergency. Also, yeah bundling sunpayus+Maden probably made negotiations with Falcons way easier and both those guys probably like sAw.

2025-01-21 00:05

They probably got maden for almost free even, I don't think anyone else would have bought him out and falcons probably wanted to get rid of him to not pay benched salary

2025-01-21 02:29

Bring spinx pls

2025-01-20 17:04

trusted sources say that nilo only plays at 30% of his potential in tier3, there is a story confirmed by other pros that heroic bought him right after pcw against vitality, where he did over 140 adr in bo3. nilo is terrified of the skill he has, he knows that the scene needs someone who will stand up to donk, but he is paralyzed by fear of himself

2025-01-20 17:06

Gotta give props to heroic for always maintaining a competitive roster despite all the roster changes ever since cadian and co left

2025-01-20 17:12

you'd better give a huge share of those props to sAw considering what he's been able to get done with every pro roster he's led so far.

2025-01-20 17:40

Honestly the last heroic squad kinda underperformed given the pieces they had, degster having visa issues for a quarter of the year no doubt played a big role in that but still, I have no idea how they choked to fucking ence at elisa

2025-01-21 02:30

nothing to be done when gla1ve rolls back the years and top frags the entire server

2025-01-21 10:08

even apart from that, they should have consistently been making playoffs at events at least, which they didn't

2025-01-21 10:58

As for me, nilo just bamboozled Heroic due to personal reasons...

2025-01-20 17:14

Denmark facepalm

2025-01-20 17:27

UPDATE FANTASY

Nice, he is not even in the line-up he will have a full salary while "recovering".

2025-01-20 17:37

Pretty toxic, definitely French

2025-01-20 19:21

I was so confused reading this until I realized there are two Swedish guys named Linus on the roster. The Linus mentioned in the quote from Heroic isn't LNZ, it's nilo. So they're subbing in Maden for this event. And going forward, Maden will probably end up back on the bench, leaving nilo and tN1R to fight for a spot on the starting lineup. They'll probably alternate events and scrims playing the same positions until they have enough VRS points with a core of SunPayus, LNZ (igl) and one of the other former Sangal guys. Then they'll have the opportunity to experiment with more freedom and find the three best fits out of tN1R, nilo, xfl0ud and yxngstxr. My current guess is that they're gonna keep both tN1R and nilo, using them as the type of rotator-spacetaker star riflers that have been in vogue since the arrival of CS2. xfl0ud and yxngstxr will probably fight it out for a spot on the team in a more supportive role, but anything is still possible. Both of them could earn spots over one of the former two if the primary options take a dip in performance.

2025-01-20 17:38

Maden is only a sub for blast so he is prbly not signed by heroic.

2025-01-20 18:06

I'm pretty sure the Heroic-Falcons trade involved Maden's contract changing hands. But either way, your reply doesn't contradict what I said.

2025-01-20 18:10

Im just hoping Heroic will keep tn1r hes a hidden gem man

2025-01-20 17:53

Imagine signing a 3 yr contract and not guaranteed to have a job ... sucks

2025-01-20 17:58

Free money on the bench

2025-01-20 18:31

That's how it works for literally every CS pro on a contract. If they play well, they'll stay on the team. If their performance drops off, they'll get benched and risk getting transferred. They'll still get their contract paid out by the org that has them on their roster, but they're not guaranteed future opportunities.

2025-01-20 18:54

Imagine having a guaranteed spot on the lineup no matter how bad you play just because you signed a long contract. This statement is aimed more towards the current roster players than nilo, telling them that they have a fair chance to earn a permanent spot in the roster even if it means that nilo sits on the bench for next 3 years.

2025-01-20 20:07

Just crazy to think about ... from the org's perspective, what's the point of having a salaried player who doesn't play?? I mean, s1mple/Navi is different ... *shrugs* ... I don't know, just crazy to think about. Guess they wanted to scoop him up so no one else has a chance to sign him.

2025-01-21 18:47

For sure they won't be paying nearly the full salary to a player who benched himself. This is a good business move regardless, unless he somehow turns out to be a complete bust. Even if by some miracle Heroic takes off without him so that there's no room for him, once he is able to play again they can just loan him somewhere to build up his value and sell him later for profit. The 3 year deal means that they can still probably sell him for quite a lot even after 2 years, if he becomes the kind of player people expect from him. But most likely he'll just join the main roster after like 6 months. Not like s1mple who no one in their right mind would pay the salary his contract dictates.

2025-01-21 19:11

Swedish pros and their personal issues

2025-01-20 18:09

Nawwks, Device, Maxster and now Nilo.. we just can't catch a break..

2025-01-20 19:03

Nawwk? You mean Hampus or?

2025-01-20 19:12

True Hampus as well. Didn't Nawwk get benched for a while in NiP due to unhealthy living habits or something?

2025-01-20 20:53

hltv.org/news/30433/nip-confirm-nawwk-re.. Apparently it was only for two matches in the end of Pro League or something

2025-01-20 20:55

I don't know Much about swedish culture but I suspect its related to his GF, the nordic girls are narcissistic af, One prayer to all my nordic brothers stay safe and come back hearty Vikings!

2025-01-20 21:10

Swedish core is the only way

2025-01-20 19:13

So fingers will be sucked once again. Maden can you please stop it? Its's disgusting

2025-01-20 19:30

Expected.

2025-01-20 20:23

Hope his health or family's health is okay, sounds like something pretty serious.

2025-01-20 20:42

I don't understand it at all. My only (super-long-shot-guess) is that he is about to be a father? or something? No clue, but what ever, I will look forward to see him compete when the time is right!

2025-01-20 20:56

maybe or something in the family who doesn't seems right.

2025-01-20 22:30

Well that for one thing is not an "unexpected thing that is out of your control" like he wrote on Twitter :D

Sign 3 years contract -> insta burnout. Nice.

2025-01-20 21:55

Burnout? Seems more like personal reasons for me.

2025-01-20 22:27

Feels more like some sickness in his family or something no?

Yeah, i think so too.

2025-01-20 22:32

Nilo’s personal reasons of the team would lose all ranking points? Nilo new CEO of Heroic confirmed

2025-01-20 22:59

He has anxiety and folds when there's an audience. So they don't want to risk it.

2025-01-20 23:03

L DENMARK

2025-01-21 00:56

unlucky bro hope he makes a nice comeback

2025-01-21 04:27

Maden last dance

2025-01-21 05:42

Old SWE legends played for peanuts, but today's kids are making so much money and still don't want to play

2025-01-21 07:37

'personal circumstances that made the significant leap to Tier 1 Counter-Strike particularly challenging at this time." Based on phrasing could be Education related

2025-01-21 09:54

""encountered personal circumstances", the word "encountered" part gives me vibes that this is a mental thing. I dont know why but considering the fact that he's still a 20-year old kid, maybe it's anxiety for getting the first real job in his life? The responsibilites and accountability etc. are so much different than what he is used to. And before anyone argues me about semantics, you know exactly what I mean. Going from metizport to HEROIC is like going from cutting the neighbourhood grass when you feel like it to working for an IT company as a full stack dev with 8 hour days and mandatory independent skill development after a work day, the contrast is huge

2025-01-21 10:45