Gaming
Esports
Heroic secure more silverware at BLAST Premier Spring Final
Heroic lived up to their name at the final CS:GO tournament before the break. We caught up with their performance team to get the scoop.
"It's just amazing," said Oliver Valsgaard, director of esports at Heroic after the team secured victory in the BLAST Premier Spring Final. "In 2023 we've been in two grand finals and two semi-finals, so to be able to lift the trophy this time is just amazing."
It's no surprise that Heroic are on cloud nine right now. After all, they're going into a well-earned break with fresh silverware in their trophy cabinet. The pathway to the grand final of the last-ever Counter-Strike: Global Offensive major tournament was not without challenge, but you wouldn't know it by watching the Danish squad. They cut through their opponents like butter every step of the way.
"The project has been ongoing for two years now and we feel that we've always had a team that could win trophies," continued Valsgaard, "In 2023 we've really established ourselves as one of the most consistent teams, but our ambitions have always been to win more tournaments."
The battles get started at the BLAST Premier Spring Final
© Stephanie Lindgren/BLAST
The next stage in this project began with a dominant run from the Danes from the very start of the BLAST Premier tournament, as Heroic swept Complexity off their feet with a 2-0 victory. Despite a nervous overtime battle on Nuke, which narrowly swung in Heroic's favour, they comfortably defeated FaZe Clan on the same map, securing them a place in the semi-finals with a clean sheet.
"FaZe is a great team with amazing players and we always have some banger matches against them so we're pleased to have beaten them the last three or four times we’ve played them," said Kasper Straube Hansen, Heroic's head of performance.
After overcoming such titans of the esport in the opening rounds, it was a refreshing change of pace to see Heroic face an underdog in the semis. Their opponents this time were Brazilian bruisers Imperial Esports, a squad that despite only being ranked 33rd in the world, had already managed to kick Team Vitality to the curb in a shocking upset.
Jakob 'Jabbi' Nygaard and his teammates share a team huddle
© Stephanie Lindgren/BLAST
"A highlight that is definitely worth mentioning is our win versus Imperial – especially the decider on Nuke," says Straube Hansen. "In recent tournaments, we have had losses versus underdog teams, which has put us in an extremely difficult situation mentally."
Despite their relatively low rank, Imperial were no pushovers. Heroic took the first-series win with only a three-point margin before a 17-17 result in the second series forced a final battle on Nuke. It was here that team captain Casper 'cadiaN' Møller stepped up to put Heroic ahead with a 1v2 clutch round-winner. With their place in the grand final sealed, our heroes were staring down one final clash with rivals Team Vitality.
"On Nuke we had a huge lead, and Imperial managed to get it into overtime, where they even led with two rounds," Straube Hansen adds. "Being able to close that game was extremely important for us and says a lot about the quality and mental strength of the team."
After being denied the IEM Rio trophy by Vitality just over a month earlier, Heroic entered the grand finals with a score to settle. Vitality's comfort map, Vertigo, was to be the setting of the opening series, but Heroic weren't discouraged. Jakob 'Jabbi' Nygaard showed his quality with a stunning 4K. Two strong pistol rounds helped Heroic secure a 16-9 lead, comfortably winning the first series.
Heroic get ready to face Vitality in the grand final
© Stephanie Lindgren/BLAST
Vitality is a team we've done really well against, but they've improved their consistency a lot
The second series was closer, with the squads trading rounds in the first half and leading Vitality to a narrow 8-7 lead. Once the pistols began waving, though, Heroic once again took the lead, before Vitality's fraggers were activated. The scales tipped in Vitality's favour as they took bomb site after bomb site and eventually the series.
The tiebreaker took place on Inferno. Vitality took the initial lead, going 5-1 on the board, but Heroic weren't defeated yet. A five-round run saw them claw their way back into the lead, before a crucial pistol round allowed them to extend the lead even further. What followed were four rounds of utter domination from Heroic, as Vitality floundered. As they closed in on the trophy, it was clear that Heroic had been the finer team.
"Vitality is a team we've historically done really well against, but they've improved their consistency a lot over the last six months and they beat us last time we played them in the IEM Rio grand final," recalled Straube Hansen. "So, after they beat us in Rio and we watched them win the Paris Major, it felt great to beat them now and get some sort of revenge."
The future beyond the player break holds the possibility of major wins in Counter-Strike 2 to further establish Heroic as one of the biggest powers in European esports. If their recent performance is anything to go by, that's a distinct possibility.
Heroic celebrate another stunning win at the BLAST Premier Spring Final
© Stephanie Lindgren/BLAST
"Now the team is going into the break, where the team can get some well-deserved rest during their vacation," concludeed Valsgaard. "Meanwhile, we're not going to be able to sit still for long, as there are so many exciting events coming in 2023 and then, of course, the CS2 Major in Copenhagen next year. Finally, we have the big questions – when will the first CS2 tournament be announced and which teams will be best at transitioning into it?"
