Heroic released a statement clarifying the termination of former Head Coach Nicolai “Hunden” Petersen on July 28. According to the statement, Hunden locked the team’s staff out of their strategy folder and leaked it to another team. The announcement also revealed that Hunden’s actions were in retaliation to Heroic informing him that he would not be participating in their upcoming tournament, IEM Cologne 2021, because of “trust issues.”
Statement from Heroic regarding Nicolai "Hunden" Petersen
Website article: https://t.co/VFZ1Rlcffd pic.twitter.com/egYfpIlOOo
— HEROIC (@heroicgg) July 29, 2021
Hunden was previously banned from Electronic Sports League and DreamHack events. This was due to his use of an exploit in a Counter-Strike tournament by the Esports Integrity Commission. In April of 2021, his sentence was reduced to eight months and he was unbanned. However, Hunden is still barred from the next five Valve-sponsored Counter-Strike: Global Offensive majors due to his use of the bug.
Following this ban, Heroic suspended the coach but brought him back onto the team after his sentence concluded.
“The Heroic team is shocked by Nicolai’s actions and deeply saddened by the way he has let his teammates down, especially given the difficult decision we took to give him a second chance after the coach bug suspension. His actions go against everything we stand for at Heroic,” the statement said.
Heroic bring legal action against Hunden
In their statement, Heroic said that the leak is in violation of Hunden’s contract. Therefore, they are currently bringing legal action against the former head coach in Denmark. The organization also notified ESL and ESIC of the leak.
“In order to preserve the integrity of the sport in the eyes of fans and everyone involved, it has to be made clear that such behavior is unacceptable and will have severe consequences,” the statement said. “We are sorry that the relationship with Nicolai ended in this way and will not make further comments at this stage due to the sensitive nature of the case.”
Hunden has competed in Counter-Strike since 2009, back in Counter-Strike: Source, and he recently transitioned to coaching in 2020.
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