TOBIZ: "Hopefully, Alkaren Will Return, but We Just Have to Get the Best Out of the Situation"
•February 17, 2026
0
Why It Matters
Roster instability hampers Heroic’s competitive edge, highlighting how visa issues can derail elite CS:GO teams. The situation underscores the importance of depth and flexibility in roster management for sustained tournament success.
Key Takeaways
- •Heroic finished 1‑3, eliminated early at Cluj‑Napoca
- •Alkaren absent due to unresolved visa issues
- •Stand‑in yxngstxr fills AWPer role temporarily
- •Coach Tobiz emphasizes adaptation and upcoming DraculaN
- •Team hopes Alkaren returns before Pro League
Pulse Analysis
Heroic’s recent performance at PGL Cluj‑Napoca illustrates how a missing star can ripple through a team’s results. Without Alkaren’s AWP expertise, the Danish squad struggled to find a consistent entry fragger, forcing Simon “yxngstxr” into an unfamiliar role. The abrupt shift disrupted established call‑outs and map‑specific strategies, contributing to close losses against seasoned opponents like FaZe and G2. Coach Tobias “TOBIZ” Theo highlighted the difficulty of re‑training a stand‑in while maintaining morale, a challenge that many organizations face when key players are unavailable.
Visa complications have become a recurring headache in the global CS:GO ecosystem, where talent often crosses borders for league play. Alkaren’s pending paperwork not only stalls his personal career but also forces Heroic to allocate practice time to re‑integrate a temporary AWPer, delaying the development of newer roster members such as Chris and Tim. This scenario underscores the broader risk management issue for esports franchises: reliance on a single player without a robust contingency plan can jeopardize tournament outcomes and sponsor confidence.
Looking ahead, Heroic aims to stabilize its lineup for the upcoming DraculaN tournament, using the experience gained from the Cluj‑Napoca setback. The team plans to retain yxngstxr in the AWPer slot while continuing negotiations for Alkaren’s visa, hoping for his return before the Pro League season. If successful, Heroic could regain its strategic depth and re‑establish itself as a contender, turning a forced adaptation into a long‑term competitive advantage.
TOBIZ: "Hopefully, Alkaren will return, but we just have to get the best out of the situation"
Heroic were sent packing from PGL Cluj‑Napoca with a 1‑3 record, tallying a solitary win over 3DMAX around losses to FaZe, B8, and G2.
It was the third consecutive event the team played with benched rifler Simon “yxngstxr” Boije as a stand‑in for their AWPer, Alimzhan “Alkaren” Bitimbay, who has yet to play a match for Heroic in 2026 due to visa issues.
“Playing without an AWPer, even though Simon [yxngstxr] is doing a good job, is really hard,” Heroic's coach, Tobias “TOBIZ” Theo, told HLTV after his team's elimination. “For how long is Simon here, even?
“We also had practice with Alkaren and with susp, and those relationships just got thrown out of the window, and then we had to get Simon back into a new role where he also needs to learn Chris [Chr1zN] and Tim [susp]. It's been a rocky start, like I said at BLAST, but we just have to get the best out of the situation and then hopefully, someday, Alim [Alkaren] will come back.”
All I know is they're working on it behind the scenes with fixing a visa for Alkaren.
Listen to the full interview here.
Obviously, an early exit from Cluj. Can you share your overall look at your run here?
I think we were competitive in two out of four games. The first game there were a lot of jitters, people were a little bit nervous against FaZe and we didn't get to execute our ideas, so it kinda looked flat for the most part.
Then we went into the B8 game, where we're just lacking a little bit of confidence because we're losing, losing and losing, and that kinda got into the players' heads. I feel like B8 should be a team that we should beat even with Simon [yxngstxr], or at least play more competitively against them than we showed.
I don't think we expected much here.
Against 3DMAX, we knew we had a chance because they were also in a slump, and naturally they play a little bit different than they're used to, but I think everybody showed up, especially susp had a really good individual performance. We had some really good T sides, where it was a little bit more structured, people were on the same page, we knew what to do in the following rounds.
And then this game here against G2, I think on Mirage there were so many close rounds where one or two kills maybe changed the whole scenario, and then it's not a 13‑5 score, then it's a much closer one or it even turns around and we can win that. On Ancient, we were throwing a huge number of rounds. We knew it was gonna be tough because they're a really good Ancient team, but the individual decision‑making maybe was lacking a little bit, where we're throwing many rounds where we maybe got nervous in the heat of the moment. You died to a pistol, then you keep on running into the stack, then another guy dies, and instead of doing what you normally would do, we start to sit down and spray, and it becomes very messy for most of the rounds, when it shouldn't be messy and it should be clean.
Overall, I don't think we expected much here. We were the clear underdog coming into this, and that's gonna be a big contrast for next week when we go to DraculaN, where we'll be the heavy favorite. We got some good experience, it's still new for Chris and also new for Tim in this setting, so I think we got the most out of it. I was hoping for more and I feel like we could have done more, but it is what it is.
This all comes against the backdrop of not being able to play with Alkaren from the start of the year. How difficult has it been to deal with this suddenly putting a dampener on your season so far, and not even knowing how it's gonna be resolved?
Expectations change, drastically. Playing without an AWPer, even though Simon is doing a good job, is really hard. For how long is Simon here, even? We also had practice with Alkaren and with susp, and those relationships just got thrown out of the window, and then we had to get Simon back into a new role where he also needs to learn Chris and Tim. It's been a rocky start, like I said at BLAST, but we just have to get the best out of the situation and then hopefully, someday, Alim [Alkaren] will come back.
Can you give me an update on that situation? A lot of rumors have been spreading around about whose fault it is, what really happened and all these things. Can you explain what's going on with that at the moment?
All I know is they're working on it behind the scenes with fixing a visa for him. Otherwise I cannot comment on too much else than that.
Next time at DraculaN, then, I assume you're still gonna play with this lineup?
Yeah, we're gonna keep Simon for DraculaN. Then hopefully we will have Pro League, which is online, and then we have BC.Game Masters, but that's in a month or so. We have to see at that point.
Hopefully, he will make a return, but we just have to get the best out of the situation here and everybody also knows that we will be underdogs in many, many games that we're playing, and keep our head high.
0
Comments
Want to join the conversation?
Loading comments...