Heroic will play at BLAST Premier World Final with a stand-in

Heroic are now the strongest team in CS:GO, at least until we see Outsiders competing again at a top tournament. Based on the recent results obtained by the Danish team, it’s hard not to regard them as a formidable force in this esport.

But as the final $1 million LAN event of the year approaches, Heroic have announced that they will compete in it with a stand-in. Martin “stavn” Lund’s place will be taken by Kristian “k0nfig” Wienecke. Given what happened in recent months, Heroic’s decision seems rather strange. But it’s perfectly possible that the result will be a positive one.

Heroic’s current position in CS:GO

Heroic have earned their number one spot in the CS:GO global rankings by finishing second at IEM Rio Major and first at BLAST Premier Fall Finals. This is a team that has what it takes to remain at the top for another year. And very recently, Valve gave them a huge present by removing Dust II from the Active Duty Map Pool.

Heroic, at least in their standard formula, are very hard to beat. But can they do it with a stand-in? We’ll have to find out at BLAST Premier: World Final. If they can, the implication is that they’re way ahead of every other team in CS:GO right now. But they’re much more likely to fail than to succeed.

The skill difference between stavn and k0nfig is considerable. On top of that, Heroic will lose not only their synergy but also their vibe. You can’t just bring in someone completely new and expect to keep the atmosphere intact.

Bringing in k0nfig for the World Final

It’s obvious that Heroic wanted to give k0nfig a chance to restart his career after everything he went through this past Autumn. But nobody knows for sure why they chose him and whether or not he’ll be able to perform well enough at such a prestigious tournament, against the world’s best CS:GO teams.

This is the first time when Heroic’s management decides to give stavn an early vacation. Last season, BLAST Premier World Final took place during December 14-18. And the exact thing happened. Except the stand-in was Johannes “b0RUP” Borup. Heroic finished that tournament seventh-eight, which was a disappointing result.

Let’s not forget that the BLAST Premier circuit involves many qualification tournaments and that its World Final offers almost as much money as a CS:GO Major.

Bringing in a stand-in can easily ruin team morale because it gives everyone the feeling that they’ve worked so hard just to compete with a huge handicap against the best teams in CS:GO. Instead of a glorious finish, Heroic might face another humiliating defeat.

Header: BLAST