Heretics has proven to be one of the most promising and talented teams in the Pro League but what exactly has contributed to their recent surge over the last month?
European Call of Duty has been undergoing a shifting of the guard throughout Black Ops 4’s short yet eventful year. Red Reserve and Reciprocity who were dubbed the European “powerhouses” at the beginning of the season, are faltering and coming to take their throne is the resilient Spaniards in Heretics. Retaining their core roster from the WW2 season, who failed to place higher than top 20 at any event, fans and analysts quickly wrote off Heretics as purely onliners who have a slim chance to make the Pro League. Now, closing that chapter of Heretics Call of Duty we are witnessing a revolution in the scene, a new chapter is being written. One that is being written by the Spanish Resistance and one that we should get accustomed to as Heretics looks to be going nowhere this season.
Relentless Aggression
Black Ops 4 has seen a new trend in the meta which directly contrasts the meta of the WW2 season being fast-paced playstyles. With specialists returning this year accompanied by the revamped sliding mechanic, players have been able to navigate the map lightning fast compared to the slow methodical style of last season. Heretics core slayers Lucky and JurNii have constantly been pushing the envelope this season. Consistently speeding up their gameplay allowing themselves to further progress in rotations, gunfights, and positioning. Heretics do not let up during their matches, they want to be in your face and force brash reactions allowing certain teams and players to expose themselves in respawn modes against them.
With the hyper-aggressive playstyle, Heretics has adopted in their respawn game modes it would be easy to assume that this can hinder them at moments. However, throughout the Pro League Heretics have shined in their respawn game modes particularly as their fast-paced style has allowed them to quickly rotate to the next hardpoint hill before their opposition. Further allowing them to post up and wait for their opponents to face them already at a disadvantage. Their unconventional playstyle has blindsided teams so far, accompanied by the next reason Heretics has become a top contender makes the Spaniards even more dangerous.
Finding Their Form
Heretics core roster was retained coming into the Black Ops 4 Season which featured the likes of Lucky and JurNii. The focal point behind Heretics slaying power has outgrown their vigorous and questionable decision making and have blossomed into one of the star duos within the Pro League. JurNii in particular has been phenomenal this season, bolstering a 1.21 overall K/D ratio which ranks him fourth in the Pro League as of February 27th, with Lucky not trailing far behind JurNii has cemented himself as one of the top players thus far.
The dynamic duo also features in the top ten for SND K/D ratios. With Lucky sitting fifth with a 1.54 and JurNii at 1.41, these two have been their team's bread and butter. Their combined abilities to spread the map and winning their one on one gunfights has been pivotal in Heretics success. JurNii and Lucky’s slaying ability opens up more space for their teammates which in turn has developed them into a cohesive unit, with every player sticking to their role and flourishing at it. Heretics star duo has dominated the Pro League, but it would all be for nothing if not for the next reason Heretics have climbed to the top.
Teamwork Makes The Dream Work
The aforementioned slaying power of Lucky and JurNii has certainly aided Heretics dominance in the Pro League thus far, but the underlying crucial part of this teams success so far has been their teamwork. During their Pro League matches the production team has given us an insight into Heretics communications via the Astro Gaming listen in. With how fast paced Black Ops 4 has been team communication is pivotal for any teams success, abrupt arguments or confusion can derail any teams momentum and potentially hinder their map movement or rotations.
Heretics have displayed few signs of these slip-ups, typically being perfect on their rotations and communications for trades so no one's death goes without a purpose. Their communication has played a huge part in their success as everyone can fluidly communicate their message without any hiccups, this further allows for everyone to be comfortable in their role knowing their teammates are safe. We often witness teams be on the opposite side of pristine communications, with trades not being fully communicated to each other it can be detrimental to a team’s cohesiveness and ability to succeed in matches. Heretics have displayed weakness towards the back half of the Pro League but should be on everyone's radar as a contender at CWL Fort Worth.
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Written By Nick Farrell@NickFarrell91
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