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Reporter Accuses HUNDEN Of Breaching Heroic Contract

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Reporter Accuses HUNDEN Of Breaching Heroic Contract

Veteran journalist Richard Lewis spills the beans about Nicolai “HUNDEN” Petersen's controversial move to Astralis 

Welsh esports reporter Richard Lewis has accused Nicolai “HUNDEN” Petersen of signing a contract with Astralis while he was under contract at Heroic. Lewis dropped the bombshell in a series of articles labeled the “The HUNDEN Files.” 

He released the first batch of articles that shed light on private communications that took place between HUNDEN and Astralis between 2020-2021. HUNDEN was a Heroic employee at that time. The documents claim that HUNDEN unlawfully penned a contract with Astralis on April 2, 2021. On the said date, HUNDEN had more than a year left on his Heroic contract, which ran till May 2022. 

 

 

HUNDEN is no stranger to controversy. Esports Integrity Commission (ESIC) banned him in September 2020 for taking advantage of the coach spectator bug that let coaches set their cameras anywhere on the map and pass that information to players. ESIC initially slapped a two-year ban on HUNDEN. Later, they reduced it to eight months as the Dane was cooperative with the investigation. Heroic reinstated HUNDEN as the coach in April 2021 after he served out his suspension. 

Only four months later, HUNDEN found himself at the center of a new controversy. Reports emerged that the 31-year-old had leaked Heroic's strategy folder to Astralis, whom Heroic were about to face at the IEM Cologne 2021. Astralis cruised to a 2-0 victory in that match, which added fuel to the fire. HUNDEN declared after the tournament that he would not extend his stay at Heroic beyond his existing contract. Heroic immediately came up with a response and openly accused HUNDEN of sharing intel with the opposition. They threatened to take legal action against the former Copenhagen Wolves player. As of writing, the legal battle between the two parties is still ongoing. 

What Do “The HUNDEN Files” Say? 

Lewis's first release of documents exposes the communication that took place between Astralis and HUNDEN when the latter was in charge of Heroic. The former ELEAGUE desk host says that HUNDEN was under contract with Heroic from May 2020 to May 2022, but that did not stop him from signing a new deal with Astralis in early 2021. 

Lewis presents evidence of Kasper Hvidt, Astralis' Director of Sports, approaching HUNDEN on March 8, 2021, to offer him the coaching job at Astralis. Communications taking place eleven days later suggest that Astralis were about to send a contract to HUNDEN for reviewing purposes. 

HUNDEN received the contract on March 23. He was still under ESIC suspension, so they had to wait to finalize the details. After ESIC lifted the suspension, HUNDEN signed a contract with Astralis on April 2, 2021. Astralis CEO Anders Hørsholt also signed the contract paper. 

Heroic caught wind of the incident in late April via an “Astralis insider.” Astralis later sent a revised contract to HUNDEN on June 1. He did not sign it at the time, as he wanted to see what numbers Heroic was willing to offer in their new contract offer. All this happened before HUNDEN led Heroic to the IEM Cologne 2021. Lewis stresses that HUNDEN was working for Astralis at that time, and he acted as their undercover agent at Heroic. 

The future releases of the HUNDEN files will disclose more information about this scandal.

Reporter Accuses HUNDEN Of Breaching Heroic Contract
The News One