HEROIC has announced the sale of Belarusian Counter-Strike 2 (CS2) player Andrey ‘tN1R’ Tatarinovich from its roster.
The rifler will depart the Norwegian esports organisation following the 2025 Esports World Cup, taking place from August 20th to 24th, 2025.
On August 12th, the organisation confirmed tN1R’s departure from the team on social media, revealing that the player’s buyout clause has been triggered.
Notably, HEROIC hasn’t disclosed which organisation has bought the player.
The sale of tN1R continues a period of turbulence for HEROIC, which has struggled to lay the foundations for its Counter-Strike efforts following the BLAST.tv Austin Major. The sale measn this is the sixth change to the roster made since June.
Since the Major, Alvaro ‘SunPayus‘ Garcia and Eetu ‘sAw‘ Saha joined G2 Esports, Gleb ‘gr1ks‘ Gazin was demoted to the bench, Linus ‘nilo’ Bergman replaced Yasin ‘xfl0ud‘ Koç, and Alimzhan ‘Alkaren‘ Bitmbai was signed on loan from Team Spirit‘s academy roster.
As a result of tN1R’s departure, xfl0ud has returned to the starting line-up to help HEROIC climb the Valve Regional Standings (VRS).
The Esports World Cup acts as an opportunity for tN1R to end his time on HEROIC on a high. The team plays IEM Cologne 2025 champions Team Spirit in its opening match.
HEROIC In 2025
The lack of stability has impacted HEROIC’s performances in online and offline competitions. Aside from victory at MESA Nomadic Masters Spring 2025, the team has struggled to score solid placements.
Back-to-back top 16 placements at IEM Cologne and FISSURE Playground 1 have seen the team drop to 18th in the VRS. With several teams continuing to improve and perform well in Counter-Strike’s top tier of events, the team aims to hold on to a place in the top 32 as attention begins to turn towards the Budapest Major.
Despite the turbulence, HEROIC’s business model in Counter-Strike has continuously seen the organisation reinvest in its squad by building talent and selling them on to pastures new. This all while, for the large part, staying within the qualification spots for Counter-Strike’s biggest events.
