HEROIC have announced that 21-year-old Simon 'yxngstxr' Boije has been moved to the bench, bringing his roughly year-long spell in the organisation's starting lineup to an end.
The decision follows an earlier roster change in which Linus 'LNZ' Holtäng was benched and Christoffer 'Chr1zN' Storgaard was installed as the team's in-game leader, part of a broader reworking of HEROIC's roster and leadership.
Simon 'yxngstxr' originally arrived at HEROIC at the start of 2025 when the organisation signed the core of Sangal, bringing in several players at once including LNZ and Yasin 'xfl0ud' Koç.
The newly assembled roster enjoyed a strong opening season in 2025: HEROIC claimed titles at the CCT Global Finals and MESA Nomadic Masters Spring and reached Stage 2 of the BLAST Austin Major, signalling a promising start for the revamped lineup.
However, stability evaporated in the second half of the year. Multiple players left for larger organisations, coach Eetu 'sAw' Saha departed, and the signing of Gleb 'gr1ks' Gazin failed to deliver the expected boost, leaving the team in flux.
Those disruptions were reflected in results. Aside from consecutive playoff finishes at smaller or weaker events such as CAC and PGL Masters Bucharest, HEROIC struggled to make an impact at LAN tournaments and ultimately failed to qualify for the StarLadder Budapest Major.
Statistically, 'yxngstxr' did not stand out: during his time with the side he posted a 0.99 average rating and was cited as HEROIC's second-worst player by that metric, a note made in context of him not being tasked with leading star roles. His player profile also lists a rating around 0.95 over 537 maps, with a KPR of 0.65 and DPR of 0.69.
HEROIC's current active roster now features Yasin 'xfl0ud' Koç, Linus 'nilo' Bergman, Christoffer 'Chr1zN' Storgaard, and Alimzhan 'Alkaren' Bitimbay, with Simon 'yxngstxr' and Linus 'LNZ' Holtäng both on the bench. Tobias 'TOBIZ' Theo remains in the coaching position.
Key player snapshots: Alimzhan 'Alkaren' Bitimbay is 18 years old with a rating of 1.07 across 327 maps, a KPR of 0.70 and DPR of 0.61. Yasin 'xfl0ud' Koç, 23, holds roughly a 1.00 rating over 851 maps, KPR 0.67 and DPR 0.66. Linus 'nilo' Bergman, 21, posts around a 1.09 rating with 888 maps played, KPR 0.74 and DPR 0.66.
Other profiles and context included in recent coverage: Gleb 'gr1ks' Gazin, 20, arrived but did not produce the desired results despite a personal rating figure of 1.16 over 587 maps with KPR 0.78 and DPR 0.60 in his broader record. Christoffer 'Chr1zN' Storgaard, the new IGL, is 19 with a rating near 0.95 across 919 maps, KPR 0.66 and DPR 0.69. Linus 'LNZ' Holtäng is 23 and recorded a 0.93 rating across 966 maps, KPR 0.62 and DPR 0.66.
The organisation's ranking sits around the high teens globally, reflecting both their early-season success and later struggles, while the Sangal core HEROIC signed had previously been ranked significantly lower as a standalone team.
HEROIC will now evaluate options to stabilise the roster and seek a clearer identity after a year that began with major silverware but ended with disappointing form and personnel upheaval.