Nikolaj "⁠niko⁠" Kristensen moves to North from Heroic, who in turn receive Daniel "⁠mertz⁠" Mertz in a loan swap, the teams have announced.

The Danish exchange, reported by vpesports.com last week, means that niko and mertz will represent their new teams at least for the duration of DreamHack Masters Stockholm 2018 and the FACEIT Major.

mertz was benched from North as the team wanted to try out an international roster at DreamHack Open Valencia, where they fielded Oscar "⁠mixwell⁠" Cañellas. The talented 19-year-old didn't make it back to the roster after the Spanish event, with captain Mathias "⁠MSL⁠" Lauridsen commenting that the team needed a more experienced AWPer.

mertz' first showing for Heroic will be DH Masters Stockholm

In a statement regarding the swap, North Director of Esports, Jonas "⁠whimp⁠" Svendsen further noted that mertz needs more in-game experience if he is to make the future roster:

"Daniel is a talented player, and stats shows that he knows how to wield the AWP. He is however still young and needs to grow even more in order to perform against the best teams in the World. Today, in order to be a top player, you need not only excellent mechanical skills but there many other factors and aspects come into play as well."

As mertz moves to Heroic to mature, niko will look to continue his recent good form in North. Currently sporting a team-high 1.08 rating, he has been a part of Heroic for almost two years. In North, the 20-year-old rifler will get a chance to play at his first Major in September:

"Im happy to get to test myself in new surroundings and I simultaneously hope and wish the best for Heroic [...] On the other hand, it's a good thing for me to enter a new group. North is one of the best teams in Denmark and a team with great ambitions. In that sense, it’s not far from what I’m coming from but I’m excited about this new challenge."

With the conclusion of the FACEIT Major, at which North have a spot at the New Challengers stage, the team will "reevaluate the team situation", according to the announcement.

With the swap deal confirmed, the two Danish sides are as follows for the foreseeable future: