One of the top CS:GO teams in recent years is facing a major setback as Heroic has decided to bench their star players, stavn and jabbi, just before their debut in CS2. The duo expressed their desire to move to Astralis, their main Danish rivals, and gave Heroic an ultimatum to choose between them or their longtime in-game leader, cadiaN. Heroic made the difficult decision to side with stavn and jabbi, resulting in cadiaN being benched earlier this month. However, it now appears that stavn and jabbi are leaning towards joining Astralis, leaving Heroic in a precarious position.
In a statement, Heroic revealed that stavn and jabbi informed them of their plans with Astralis on the same day they were presented with new contracts. This came as a surprise to Heroic, as their contracts still had almost 10 months remaining. While Heroic is determined to find a long-term solution, they hope to bring stavn and jabbi back to the team.
Heroic took a subtle dig at Astralis in their statement, stating that they are open to discussing transfers with organizations that have a professional approach and understand the market value of their players. This suggests that Heroic wants to ensure fair treatment for their players amidst the ongoing drama.
The timing of this situation couldn’t be worse for Heroic, as reports indicate that cadiaN may be joining Team Liquid. If this turns out to be true, Heroic will not only lose their in-game leader but also face the possibility of losing stavn and jabbi to Astralis.
Adding to the complications, Heroic recently secured the services of five-time Major champion dupreeh until the end of the year. The plan was for him to play alongside jabbi and stavn, but with their uncertain status, it is unlikely that this lineup will come to fruition.
Despite the challenges, Heroic is set to debut in CS2 today against Aurora at the Roobet Cup 2023. However, they will be playing with MOUZ’s academy players, Chr1zN and sirah, instead of stavn and jabbi.
Dot Esports has reached out to Astralis for comment on the situation.
Source: DOTESPORTS
