cadiaN jokes: "It was a nice run, another top-four, we're happy about that"

The Danish captain gave a light-hearted response when asked about his team's upcoming semi-final bout versus either Complexity or Imperial.

Heroic ended 2022 on a high note. The Danish quintet recovered from a gut-wrenching second-place finish at the IEM Rio Major by picking up their first Big Event trophy ever at the BLAST Premier Fall Final a few weeks later. They did slip up with a joint-last-place exit at the BLAST Premier World Final to end the season, but they notably traveled to Abu Dhabi without Martin "⁠stavn⁠" Lund, instead bringing in Kristian "⁠k0nfig⁠" Wienecke as a last-minute replacement.

Date	Matches
BLAST Premier Spring Final 2023
10/06/2023	Heroic 19:15 Imperial	Match

Expectations were high that Heroic could carry this uptick in form into 2023, but a series of upsets to smaller teams at the IEM Rio, the BLAST.tv Paris Major, and the IEM Dallas playoffs, leave the Casper "⁠cadiaN⁠" Møller-led lineup still gunning for their first trophy of the year. It's something the Danish skipper is aware of and something he took a comedic stance on as Heroic wait to see which of the two underdogs they will face in the semi-finals in Washington, D.C.

"We had a talk before the tournament, we had a talk during the tournament, and I'm not going to lie, we know the season is over," cadiaN remarked when asked by HLTV about what he said after besting FaZe in the Group A upper final, a win which sets up a date with either Imperial or Complexity in the process.

"We're gonna play an underdog team in the semi-final, so that's it. It was a nice run, another top-four, we're happy about that, but we know we're not gonna make it further than this," the Dane joked, referencing his team's shortfalls to lower-ranked sides in the past. "I'm still proud of the guys for how we played in the group stage because yeah, it was nice."

Heroic's defeats to these lower-rated sides have been a key storyline of the team in recent months. The Danes were unable to take down Vitality in the IEM Rio grand final, despite narrowly being the bookies' favorites — Heroic were No. 3 whilst Dan "⁠apEX⁠" Madesclaire and company were then ranked No. 6.

The BLAST.tv Paris Major followed, a tournament that cadiaN's troops were touted as being one of the two favorites alongside Vitality. The Danes romped through the Legends Stage with a clean 3-0 record before moving past FaZe, another heavyweight, in the quarter-finals. All that stood between Heroic and another berth to a Major title decider was GamerLegion, a side that were outside of the top 30 at the time and one few expected to be able to stand up to Heroic in front of a packed Accor Arena.

Regardless, the team around cadiaN were unable to keep their so-far flawless run in Paris going. Kamil "⁠siuhy⁠" Szkaradek's men, powered by a stellar performance from Mihai "⁠iM⁠" Ivan, prevailed in a bitter three-map affair, extending their Cinderella Run that little bit longer and adding another playoff exit to Heroic's growing list of early exits in 2023.

Try as they may, Heroic's woes only continued as the Danes looked to shake off their Major shortfalls, a trip to IEM Dallas offering a great opportunity to add some silverware to the trophy cabinet. All was going well up until the semi-finals, but Heroic once again faltered, this time bowing out at the hands of MOUZ, who themselves crashed out of the BLAST.tv Paris Major in joint-last place and were not a side many had predicted to be capable of taking Heroic's scalp in Texas.

"Well, we tried different things and it didn't work. First GamerLegion and then MOUZ, lost the [IEM Rio Major final] to Outsiders as well," cadiaN said, explaining how the Danes' losses aren't coming through lack of effort.

"The matter of the fact is that we can play good on the big stages because we took down NAVI and FaZe, and all these other amazing teams, but when we play teams of a lesser name, we for some reason don't play the same level that we're capable of. That's why this draw is very tough, maybe facing Vitality in the quarter-final would have been different for us, but this [semi-final versus Imperial or Complexity] is looking rough."

Heroic are now in prime position to make it to one last Big Event grand final before the player break begins on June 12. They are no strangers to these deep runs, but before they can look ahead to ending the season in tip top form, they must first overcome their demons and overpower whichever underdog out of Imperial and Complexity they will face on Saturday at 19:00 in front of the Washington, D.C. crowd.