The Arctic Circle may not be the first place that comes to mind when you think of LAN events, but for the next few days, it will be the host of MistGames’ Heroes of Lofoten.
Located in the northern reaches of Norway, Lofoten is an archipelago that offers a breathtaking backdrop to a LAN event. The playing area is housed in a converted barn, with wooden beams, low ceilings, and plenty of nautical-themed decoration. The cozy atmosphere is in stark contrast to the wild and untamed scenery that surrounds the venue.
Five academy rosters are among the teams doing battle at Heroes of Lofoten, making this event vital for the development of young players in the absence of the WePlay Academy League.
With top-20 teams increasingly looking to their academy rosters for potential roster moves, these young talents may very well be featuring at elite events in the future.
Astralis Talent arrives at the event as the highest-ranked squad, and the favorites to win it. Their team features Andreas “Xyp9x” Højsleth, a four-time Major winner, and has been on an outstanding run of form lately, winning competitions like POWER Ligaen, SDTV Invitational, and CCT North Europe Series 4.
ENCE Academy has recently become the second-highest ranked Finnish team in the world rankings, taking the spot from Aleksi “allu” Jalli’s JANO squad. They have achieved this thanks to solid placings in online events such as European Pro League, with Paavo “podi” Heiskanen being their star player.
MOUZ NXT is probably the most renowned academy division in top-level CS, with alumni like Ádám “torzsi” Torzsás, Dorian “xertioN” Berman, and Kamil “siuhy” Szkaradek. The current iteration of MOUZ NXT hasn’t quite been able to match the top-30 level of the previous squad, but Jimi “Jimpphat” Salo, brother of ex-ENCE star Jere “sergej” Salo, has emerged as one of the hottest prospects in CS.
PROSPECTS, the second-highest ranked team in attendance, recently won European Pro League Season 7 ahead of many of their opponents in this very event, and so will compete in Norway full of confidence.
MASONIC is the only team ranked outside the top 100 in attendance, but this Danish team has been home to many young talents over the years, including current Astralis members Christian “Buzz” Andersen and Altekz. Anton “Anlelele” Huynh, William “sirah” Kjærsgaard, Theis “J3nsyy” Jensen, and Sebastian “Tauson” Tauson Lindelof are players to watch on the team.
The action in Norway continues on April 26 as MASONIC takes on MOUZ NXT in the quarter-finals.
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