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How Did Heroic Win DreamHack Open Fall?

Heroic have gained some huge bonuses by winning DH Open Fall. They’re now qualified for the IEM Global Challenge,... Fabio | 27. October 2020

Heroic have gained some huge bonuses by winning DH Open Fall. They’re now qualified for the IEM Global Challenge, the first ESL offline event since the beginning of the pandemic. On top of that, they’ve gained 2500 RMR points counting towards Major qualification and $33,000 in prize money.

During ESL One Cologne, the Danes had only required three straight maps versus Vitality to attain the trophy of the online event. Since then, a lot has changed, most of all the departure of Nicolai “HUNDEN” Petersen as Coach of Casper “cadiaN” Møller and company.

In the Group Stage of DreamHack Open Fall, Heroic had even lost two matches, one of them being versus G2 Esports. Even though they hugely improved and stabilized in the Lower Bracket, this performance didn’t exactly scream ‘Grand Finals’. Only after their victory over Astralis, it became clear that they had a legitimate shot at the trophy.

HEROIC REQUIRED 5 MAPS THIS TIME AROUND

But the Grand Finals were still not a walk in the park for the five Danes. On Overpass, they dragged Vitality into overtime and had to concede a 17-19 map. Fortunately, they transitioned to their own map pick, where they had to enter overtime once more. This time around, however, they managed to win on a 22-20 scoreline. On Inferno, Vitality’s pick, they shocked the Frenchmen with a quick 16-11 win. Suddenly, Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut and his mates stood with their backs against the wall. On Heroic’s Vertigo, they had to win, otherwise the Grand Finals would have found a relatively quick end.

But ZywOo and Dan “apEX” Madesclaire were committed to stopping the Danes from running away with the victory. They got a 16-10, tying the Grand Finals once more. The fifth and last map became the deciding factor of DreamHack Open Fall. At the end, Heroic managed to bag the trophy, the RMR points and the IEM Global Challenge slot. On a 16-7 scoreline, they defeated Vitality on Mirage, which wouldn’t have been possible without one key player.

WHAT IS GOING ON WITH CADIAN?

The Danes has managed to make a late dash into the echelons of CS:GO pro competition. With 25 years of age, cadiaN really isn’t a young gun anymore and his career up to this point indicates that he might have peaked already. In this Heroic lineup, however, he has risen to unprecedented heights. In the Group Stage, he already put up a phenomenal performance against Astralis and left the server on the highest rating. At one point, he even secured a 1.90 rating versus players like Peter “dupreeh” Rasmussen and Nicolai “device” Reedtz.

He did all of this while leading Heroic to victory as the in-game-leader. While they didn’t win this first match against Astralis, they took revenge on Saturday and even entered the Grand Finals. Once again, cadiaN was the top performer on his roster and even managed to compensate for the subpar output of Johannes “b0RUP” Borup and René “TeSeS” Madsen.

In the Grand Finals, he took some time to get warmed up. He ended the first map on a 0.97 rating. But on Nuke, he was present in full force and even delivered a 30-bomb. He aided their quick victory on Inferno with a 1.33 rating, but during their Vertigo defeat he was, just like all the Danes except for b0RUP, at the very bottom of the scoreboard. On the fifth and last map, however, he was an unstoppable force. With just 5 deaths, he only died half as much as every other Heroic player, respectively. This would have been a great performance in itself, but he put 31 kills on top. This helped him secure a 2.08 rating, which put him miles ahead of any player, which includes ZywOo.

Without a question, cadiaN was the top gun for his team. If he manages to retain this level of performance, he might actually grow to be one of the most individually capable callers in all of Europe.