Heroic played themselves out of the underdog tag a long time ago, and while everyone likes an underdog story, once you become actually good, the critics start multiplying. Heroic have experienced this dynamic frequently. But team captain cadiaN is unbothered, as he has his eyes set on the grand prize.
CadiaN has really seen it all in his decade-long professional CS:GO career. He’s been at the bottom, the top, and everywhere in between. Now, he is a BLAST Paris Major semifinalist following an impressive 2-1 victory over FaZe Clan.
In a post-match interview with HLTV, we got a peek into cadiaN and Heroic’s mentality. Their quarterfinal against FaZe went to a third map, Mirage, which they comfortably won 16–6 to advance. This was all achieved while facing one notable obstacle. The Paris crowd was visibly favoring FaZe, creating an almost home atmosphere for Heroic’s popular international foes.
When asked about the crowd cheering against Heroic, cadiaN responded in a stoic manner: “Yeah. I’ve been there, done that, nothing more to say. Not surprised.”
Heroic have a bit of a history with arena audiences not giving them much support for one reason or another. Back at the IEM Rio Major in 2022, cadiaN tried to get the crowd behind Heroic during their run to the final. Now, he has a different strategy.
Heroic’s captain said he’s not “even going to attempt” turning the Paris crowd in his favor If that sounds a little defeatist, don’t be fooled; cadiaN is in it to win it.
“They can cheer for who they want, we’re just going to play and win,” cadiaN said.
It seems that cadiaN is done asking for anyone’s support and is ready to lift his first Major title. The last time he tried to get the crowd behind his team, Heroic lost in the final, so maybe this new approach will be part of getting cadiaN and co. over the proverbial hump in Paris.
You can follow all of the action from the BLAST Paris CS:GO Major in real-time, including scores, results, and upcoming fixtures in our coverage hub.
