yxngstxr leaves HEROIC after summer roster rebuild

HEROIC have officially parted ways with Simon “yxngstxr” Boije, bringing the Swedish player's 19-month stay with the organization to an end.

The organization announced his departure on August 24, wishing its former player well as he “sets off on a new journey.” No destination has been announced for the 21-year-old, who had already been removed from HEROIC's active lineup during the team's July rebuild.

The move therefore does not change HEROIC's current starting five. Antonio “MartinezSa” Martinez had already taken over the primary AWP role, while Ludvig “Brollan” Brolin joined to complete a revamped lineup featuring Linus “nilo” Bergman, Tim “susp” Ångström and in-game leader Christoffer “Chr1zN” Storgaard. Joonas “doto” Forss replaced Tobias “TOBIZ” Theo as head coach.

Quick Summary

Detail	Information
Team	HEROIC
Player leaving	Simon “yxngstxr” Boije
Status	Departed organization
Previous status	Inactive / benched
Age	21
Nationality	Swedish
Joined HEROIC	January 2025
Left active lineup	July 7, 2026
Official departure	August 24, 2026
Replacement on active roster	MartinezSa as primary AWPer
Next team	Not announced
HEROIC's next event	IEM Beijing 2026 Closed Qualifier

What changed?

yxngstxr had effectively been outside HEROIC's competitive plans since July 7, when he stepped down from the active roster as part of a wider off-season overhaul.

The same rebuild saw xfl0ud removed from the lineup before joining FUT, TOBIZ replaced by doto, MartinezSa signed to take over the AWP, and Brollan added as the final piece of the new five.

Monday's announcement makes yxngstxr's exit permanent rather than simply leaving him on HEROIC's inactive list.

HEROIC have not announced whether another organization has acquired him or where he will play next. HLTV currently lists him without a team and with no scheduled upcoming matches.

HEROIC's previous and current lineups

Lineup before the summer rebuild

• Simon “yxngstxr” Boije
• Yasin “xfl0ud” Koç
• Linus “nilo” Bergman
• Tim “susp” Ångström
• Christoffer “Chr1zN” Storgaard — IGL
• Tobias “TOBIZ” Theo — coach

That version of HEROIC played 97 maps together between January and June, recording 48 wins and 49 losses.

Current HEROIC lineup

• Ludvig “Brollan” Brolin
• Linus “nilo” Bergman
• Tim “susp” Ångström
• Antonio “MartinezSa” Martinez — AWPer
• Christoffer “Chr1zN” Storgaard — IGL
• Joonas “doto” Forss — coach

The current five has been together since July and had accumulated a 22-12 map record across its first 34 maps.

From the Sangal core to HEROIC

yxngstxr's HEROIC career began on January 10, 2025, when the organization rebuilt around the former Sangal core of yxngstxr, xfl0ud and LNZ.

The three arrived together as HEROIC reconstructed its lineup after losing much of its previous roster during the 2024-25 winter transfer period. SunPayus and tN1R were initially added alongside the Sangal trio.

yxngstxr was part of a productive first season for that project. HEROIC won the CCT Global Finals and MESA Nomadic Masters Spring in 2025 and reached Stage 2 of the BLAST.tv Austin Major, although frequent personnel changes prevented the organization from maintaining a stable five through the second half of the year.

By January 2026, HEROIC had changed direction again.

Chr1zN took over the in-game leadership role, susp arrived, and yxngstxr was moved to the bench on January 6. His time away from the lineup lasted barely a week.

The unexpected AWP switch

The defining part of yxngstxr's final season with HEROIC came from a role he was never originally signed to fill.

Alimzhan “Alkaren” Bitimbay had been expected to operate as HEROIC's primary AWPer in 2026, but visa complications prevented the Kazakh player from competing at the start of the season.

HEROIC therefore recalled yxngstxr on January 13, initially as a temporary substitute for BLAST Bounty Season 1. Rather than return to his usual rifling duties, the Swede was asked to take over the AWP.

The arrangement lasted much longer than expected.

TOBIZ acknowledged in February that competing without a natural AWPer created problems for the team, while also crediting yxngstxr for adapting to an unfamiliar role. Alkaren ultimately did not play an official match for HEROIC in 2026 and was later loaned to CYBERSHOKE after MartinezSa's arrival.

Despite the circumstances, yxngstxr remained in the lineup throughout HEROIC's push toward the IEM Cologne Major.

He averaged a 1.00 rating across the season as HEROIC's makeshift sniper and helped the team secure its Major place.

HEROIC's run in Cologne ended in Stage 1 with a 1-3 record. Their only victory came against Gaimin Gladiators before Liquid eliminated them 2-0. The Major exit effectively marked the end of that version of the roster.

Why yxngstxr's departure matters

For HEROIC, the important change happened in July rather than August.

yxngstxr had been functioning as an improvised solution to the team's AWP problem. Signing MartinezSa gave HEROIC a dedicated primary sniper again and removed the need to shape the lineup around a player learning the role during official competition.

MartinezSa arrived after posting a 1.14 rating during his spell with Gentle Mates and had spent virtually his entire senior career in Spanish-speaking lineups. HEROIC represented his first move into an English-speaking international project.

The structural difference is significant.

With MartinezSa handling the AWP and Chr1zN retaining the leadership duties, HEROIC can use Brollan, nilo and susp as dedicated riflers instead of asking one of them — or yxngstxr — to cover a specialist position.

Brollan's signing also came with another notable change. After spending more than a year calling for MOUZ, the Swede stepped away from in-game leadership upon joining HEROIC, allowing him to move back toward the aggressive rifling roles that defined his earlier career.

That does not automatically make the new lineup stronger, but its roles are considerably more conventional than the emergency setup HEROIC were forced to use during the first half of 2026.

HEROIC's form since the rebuild

The new roster made an immediate impact by winning Stake Ranked Episode 3 in Barcelona.

HEROIC defeated 3DMAX, Phantom and Ninjas in Pyjamas before sweeping K27 3-0 in the best-of-five grand final, giving MartinezSa and Brollan a title in their first event with the team.

Results since then have been less consistent.

HEROIC lost 1-2 to The MongolZ in BLAST Bounty Season 2 and failed to reach the tournament's LAN finals. They later finished 5th-8th in the European closed qualifier for StarLadder StarSeries Fall after beating FOKUS and Astralis but losing to HOTU and Ninjas in Pyjamas.

Their most recent campaign ended in another qualification setback.

HEROIC beat REM, 9INE and ASTRAL during the Esports World Cup 2026 Open Qualifier but fell 0-2 to fnatic on August 9, leaving them outside the main event.

As of the latest HLTV team page, HEROIC sit No. 29 in the HLTV world ranking and No. 27 in Valve's ranking.

What has yxngstxr done since leaving the active roster?

yxngstxr has continued playing rather than remaining completely inactive.

He stood in for EYEBALLERS during BLAST Bounty Season 2, where the Swedish side lost 0-2 to FaZe, and later appeared with several temporary lineups.

Most recently, he has competed with the Raccoons mix alongside nexa, CYPHER, Ex3rcice and hades. His August schedule included online matches in the Exort Fiesta Series and its closed qualifier.

Across his past three months of recorded competition, HLTV lists yxngstxr with a 1.11 Rating 3.0 over 29 maps, although those numbers include matches played outside HEROIC and at a different competitive level.

His next permanent team remains unknown.

Player connections and an unusual HEROIC spell

Several details make yxngstxr's time with HEROIC more unusual than a standard roster departure.

• He arrived as one of three players acquired together from Sangal in January 2025.
• He was benched on January 6, 2026, only to return to competition the following week because Alkaren could not travel.
• Although primarily known as a rifler, he spent much of 2026 as HEROIC's main AWPer.
• He helped HEROIC qualify for the IEM Cologne Major while playing the unfamiliar role.
• He remained available to the team through months of uncertainty around Alkaren's visa situation rather than being replaced immediately.
• His final official HEROIC matches came at the Cologne Major in early June, more than two months before his contract exit was announced.

What does HEROIC's roster look like now?

HEROIC's rebuild has produced a young lineup with clearly defined leadership and AWP roles.

Chr1zN remains the IGL, MartinezSa is the dedicated sniper, and Brollan gives the roster another experienced high-level rifler alongside a younger Swedish core of nilo and susp.

The early results show both sides of the project.

Winning Stake Ranked Episode 3 immediately demonstrated that the roster has enough firepower to produce results, with MartinezSa particularly productive since joining. At the same time, early exits from BLAST Bounty, the StarSeries qualifier and the Esports World Cup qualifier show that the team has yet to establish consistent form.

yxngstxr's official departure does not alter that competitive structure. Instead, it closes one of the remaining contractual links to HEROIC's previous roster.

When will HEROIC play next?

HEROIC's next scheduled competition is the IEM Beijing 2026 European Closed Qualifier, which runs online from September 2-4.

Sixteen teams are listed for the qualifier, with two European spots at the $1.25 million IEM Beijing main event available. HEROIC are among the invited teams alongside B8, paiN, BIG, magic, 3DMAX, MIBR and GamerLegion. Their opening opponent has not yet been confirmed.

That qualifier will offer another useful measure of how quickly the new roster can turn its promising debut into more consistent results.

For yxngstxr, the immediate question is simpler: where the adaptable Swedish rifler — and emergency AWPer — goes next.

FAQ

Did yxngstxr leave HEROIC?

Yes. HEROIC announced Simon “yxngstxr” Boije's departure from the organization on August 24, 2026. He had already been inactive since July.

Why did yxngstxr leave HEROIC?

HEROIC did not publicly give a specific personal reason for his final departure. He had previously stepped down during the organization's summer roster rebuild, which included the signing of MartinezSa as a dedicated AWPer.

Who replaced yxngstxr on HEROIC?

Antonio “MartinezSa” Martinez took over the primary AWP position during HEROIC's July rebuild.

What is HEROIC's current CS2 roster?

HEROIC currently field Brollan, nilo, susp, MartinezSa and Chr1zN, with doto as head coach. Chr1zN is the team's IGL and MartinezSa is its primary AWPer.

Which team is yxngstxr joining?

No new organization has been announced. HLTV currently lists yxngstxr without a team.

When will HEROIC play next?

HEROIC are scheduled to compete in the IEM Beijing 2026 European Closed Qualifier from September 2-4.