HEROIC has made a swift roster change, benching Gleb ‘gr1kz’ Gazin from its Counter-Strike 2 (CS2) lineup after just over a month. The Norwegian organisation explained that gr1kz’s playstyle didn’t quite fit the direction the team is taking, leading to this quick adjustment.
HEROIC confirmed the change on August 7th, 2025, following two events. Despite an early exit at FISSURE Playground 1, the team showed promise by advancing to the second stage of IEM Cologne 2025 with wins over MIBR and Virtus.pro. Still, something clearly wasn’t clicking.
To fill the gap, HEROIC has signed Alimzhan ‘Alkaren’ Bitimbai from Team Spirit’s academy on loan. Alkaren will take over the AWPer role for the rest of the season, preparing to bring stability and firepower to the squad.
HEROIC’s statement said, “Our management made a number of moves to get the team into the right spot. Now we have to accept that not all the pieces we put together have fit as well as we hoped, and we take full responsibility for that.” They also thanked gr1ks for his contributions, both in-game and behind the scenes, despite the short stint.
Back in June, HEROIC brought back Linus ‘nilo’ Bergman after he spent six months benched, so this isn’t the first shuffle this year.
What’s Next For HEROIC?
Alkaren’s debut with HEROIC will be at the Esports World Cup in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, running from August 20th to 24th. Meanwhile, the team is battling in BLAST Bounty Season 2, facing Complexity in the round of 32 on August 8th. Ranked 18th in the Valve Regional Standings (VRS), HEROIC is scrambling to climb into the top 32 spots to keep their competitive hopes alive.
If Alkaren’s loan goes well, HEROIC can make the signing permanent. Guess they’re hoping this shake-up will help them solidify their spot among Europe’s top teams, but is it too little too late? Only time will tell, but the pressure’s definitely on.
What do you think about HEROIC’s quick benching of gr1ks and bringing in Alkaren?
