Heroic CadiaN talks about fan support, Dev1ce’s return and M4 changes

After 2 years of being called onliners, cadiaN's Heroic finally managed to lift a trophy. Their victory at Fall Finals came after a gruelling 3-mapper against FaZe and proved that they have finally unlocked their full strength. But almost immediately the team's star rifler Martin "stavn" Lund has taken a leave to rest through the final event of the year. Coming into BLAST Premier World Finals the team will instead be using former Astralis star Kristian "k0nfig" Wienecke in the lineup.

We sat down with Casper "cadiaN" Møller before the event to discuss the Fall Finals win and their preparation coming into the World Finals.

Arnav "xL" Shukla: Coming into the event there was some talk about how the Jabbi move hadn't quite panned out yet. But you guys performed really well at that event. The run to the finals was great but you had a disappointing loss in the finals. Does the victory at Fall Finals ease the pain of the Major loss or do you still feel that you should've won that one as well?

cadiaN: I think the victory at the Fall Finals eases the defeat a lot. Let's say we would've gone to the finals at Copenhagen and lost as well, you would kind of think that you were only two games away from creating something very big. 

I think it's always easy to say but when we won in Copenhagen it just felt like that was the right tournament to win. With friends and family in the stands, and having a home crowd and stuff like this. At the end of the day, people will probably remember a Major more but I hope our time will come and if we keep improving and doing well we will get a new chance. But the victory in Copenhagen means a lot also for the experience we get, all of us, me as a captain and but also for the young players.

xL: For your storyline as well, you spent a lot of years in the Danish scene roaming about. Then you had those online years. The last Copenhagen event was the big downfall for Heroic. You lost to Astralis in a shocking fashion. So coming back from that and winning in front of the home crowd, must've been an amazing feeling.

cadiaN: Yes yes, really. Like I said we also didn't know what to expect from the crowd. Cause they were cheering a lot for Astralis last year. But I saw many white Heroic jerseys and they were really enthusiastic. 

So we really had the time of our lives on that stage. Also combined with the support we had in Rio with the Brazilian fans, I think that now we've had two tournaments in a row with a lot of support. It's just such a good feeling because sometimes we're seen a bit as the villains of the scene. So it was really nice to have that kind of support and it's just going to spark even more interest for other people to start following us and becoming fans. So yeah, it's been great.

xL: Obviously you lost to FaZe clan in the group stage and it was a 2-0 as well. Coming back from that was it a lot of preparation that helped you out or was it the cheering of the fans that gave you the boost you needed to edge it out in three?

cadiaN: To be honest, when we played the group stage game against FaZe, we definitely should've won the first map of Ancient. I think we were leading 14-12 on CT and we had a decent economy on a very CT-sided map. So we should've definitely closed it out but Ropz had an amazing 1v3 and we lost a 5v3 as well. 

We threw some advantages that we shouldn't. If we would've won that map, I'm not saying we would win the second map because our Inferno has been struggling a lot. But it would've been ad different game and who knows what would've happened on the third map. 

But for the final, I think we didn't think too much about the previous game we played against them. We took a different choice in the map pool, we decided to pick Overpass which was actually the same map we picked in the finals of the Rio Major. It didn't turn out too well for us then. But we matured since then and learned some things and kept our composure because we were actually down 0-5 and had three kills. It was looking pretty grim. We just went in with a good mindset, and a positive mindset and played some excellent counter-strike.

xL: So that momentum almost immediately came to a stop as stavn has taken a rest. You've got k0nfig coming in as a stand-in. Obviously, he has a lot to prove for himself. But how has the practice been so far with him? How has the role balance worked out so far?

cadiaN: I think maybe the roles are a little bit different from what k0nfig is used to and I think the playstyle is at least very different from what he's used to. But he's honestly fitting in really well. He's had many good practice games and he's been very fun to play with both inside and outside the server. 

It's also been about how much you want to try to incorporate him in our playstyle and our philosophies because it's only this tournament and you need to find a balance. Because we're not going to be able to play exactly like we did with stavn. But so far it's been really nice to play with him and he's been fitting really well.

Arnav: So with this stand-in situation have you lowered your expectation for the event overall? What is your goal for this event?

xL: I think we rarely look at goals for a tournament as in how deep we want to make it, as in terms of results-oriented. We look a lot at the processes. And of course, some of the processes are a bit different because also stavn takes a lot of responsibility. So now there'll be even more on my shoulders and there'll be more on some of the younger guys. 

But if we would've played with our full lineup we would've been the favorites to win the tournament whereas now I guess the other teams won't see us as a favorite. But I still think people don't want to play against us because they know we are in good shape and they know we can play even more freely with k0nfig. So I'm not sure exactly what to expect but I think we have better chances than what some people expect. 

xL: So putting more responsibilities on your shoulders, that's going to be tough to deal with considering the incredible level of performance coming out of you at both the Major and the Fall Finals. And it's been a driving force for Heroic. Do you think you can maintain that form at this event with the added pressure?

cadiaN: I hope so. But as you said, it's really difficult as both the in-game leader and the AWP role. I've really found a good stride lately, a good form. But also sometimes it requires that if I am in my scope or trying to do my things with the AWP, that some of the other guys can communicate and make some plans. They would be tested even more. 

I think I am hoping that my individual game would still be really good. I have put in some time coming from the last tournament into this one and making sure I am up to date. But only time will tell.

xL: In the recent patch, the update says it is only a 5% change to the M4 but it has completely flipped the script. Have you guys switched to the M4A4 already or are you testing both guns out?

cadiaN: I think right now, my four teammates are playing with the M4A4 and I am still playing with the A1. But that's also because it is a little bit cheaper. So if I need to drop to swap for an AWP it's easier for me. I think it's very split when we practice against other teams what weapons they use. So it should be interesting. 

This is the first tier 1 tournament with the new patch. I'm excited to see what weapons people will use. Actually, I didn't think the AWP change would do anything. But there's been many situations where I've been needing the extra bullets. If I've been spamming the smoke, a few shots or something and I have to reload in some weird situations. So it's not like a direct nerf because if you are holding an angle with the AWP it's so strong. But I also don't think the AWP needs a nerf. There are some situations where I've been having to reload where I didn't want to.

xL: Yeah the gun's still the same but you'll need to take some time to get used to the smaller magazine. What are your thoughts on Anubis? It's a map that's been described as very AWP-heavy. So that would be another thing that you would have to put in a lot of practice? So what are your thoughts on the new map?

cadiaN: I think it's been really fun to play Anubis. It's been four years since we had Vertigo introduced. I don't think I've ever tried in CS, at least not since Vertigo and before that Overpass, to play a map that you've never played before. Like you've never tried to run around the map and you don't understand any of the dynamics. So it's been really fun to try and build that from the bottom. And yeah, I've been trying to play it. I think it's very difficult to play it on the CT side currently, but people also need to try and find solutions. 

xL: So coming into this event, there are a lot of tough teams in the field. Is there a particular opponent you are interested in playing against?

cadiaN: Not really. I think right now considering we are not playing with our full lineup, we are just looking at how we play and what we do. Not so much about who we play against. Maybe if we would've played a full lineup, it would have been fun as a rematch against Outsiders. But as of right now, one game at a time and we'll see what happens.

xL: Finally Dev1ce has come back to Astralis. Do you think the battle for the best in Denmark might get interesting again because you've had the title for a couple of years now?

cadiaN: Yeah, I've seen some of their games and he looks very sharp. I'm not surprised at all, he's an amazing player. I think it's a really good singing for Astralis. Whether it's going to change the battle for first, time will tell. But I definitely think it was a step in the right direction for them. And honestly, just as a fan of CS, It's good to see Dev1ce back because he is an icon of the game.

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