HEROIC may be about to complete one of the most interesting AWP changes of this offseason. According to the available information, the club has made significant progress in negotiations to sign Antonio “MartinezSa” Martinez, and the Spanish AWPer is now close to joining an international roster.
This story makes sense from both sides at once. For HEROIC, it is a chance to finally solve a problematic position that has been hanging since the start of the year because of Alimzhan “Alkaren” Bitimbay’s visa issues. For MartinezSa, this may be the most important career step he has taken in a while: a move into a fully English-speaking project and a completely new team environment.
HEROIC are looking not just for an AWPer, but for stability
The main point of this possible transfer is not only MartinezSa’s individual strength, but also the fact that HEROIC have long needed a reliable solution on the AWP. Because of Alkaren’s visa problems, the team has not been able to properly use its primary sniper since the beginning of the season, and that automatically affected roles and the overall structure of the game.
That is why the interest in the Spaniard looks very pragmatic. HEROIC right now do not look like a team simply testing a high-profile name on the market. They look more like a team searching for a player who can be placed directly into the system and around whom the roster balance will not have to be rebuilt every month. In that sense, MartinezSa looks not like a random candidate, but like a very specific answer to a long-standing problem.
Why MartinezSa specifically
MartinezSa currently has a strong profile for a move like this. He has long been seen as an AWPer capable of maintaining his level even in unstable teams, and at the same time he does not look like a player who would need a long time to adapt to a more serious project. Since joining Gentle Mates in August 2025, he has maintained a 1.14 rating, and for a roster that was constantly fighting for survival in the ranking race, that is a very solid number.
Even more importantly, MartinezSa has delivered results under different conditions. His team attended VRS LAN tournaments, played online events, and from time to time appeared at stronger competitions. So his numbers were not built in a protected environment. This is the stat line of a player who has been living for some time in a mode of constant struggle for opportunity, not just farming rating in a comfortable regional setting.
For MartinezSa, this could be a new stage of his career
It is also interesting that this transfer could become the Spaniard’s first major move into a fully English-speaking lineup. Up to this point, his career has taken place almost entirely in Spanish-speaking environments. He started back in VELOX, later became part of the core that went from the old Movistar Riders days to the current Gentle Mates configuration, and also had a stint in Latin America with 9z in 2024 and 2025.
That is why a possible move to HEROIC matters not just as a club change. It is also a shift in working language, team culture, and daily communication. For some players, that kind of jump becomes a growth point; for others, a serious challenge. But if HEROIC are truly ready to take the deal to the finish line, it means they believe MartinezSa can adapt to this format without losing quality.
Gentle Mates continue to fall apart this offseason
On the other side, this possible transfer fits very naturally into what is happening with Gentle Mates right now. The French organization is going through a very turbulent summer after leaving the Counter-Strike scene and beginning to look for options to sell its roster to other clubs. Against that backdrop, interest in the team’s most valuable players was only a matter of time.
And MartinezSa was probably the most obvious figure for a separate transfer move. AWPers of this type are always in short supply, and when a player with experience, strong numbers, and a clearly defined style appears on the market, he almost automatically enters the field of view of teams with an AWP problem. He had previously already been linked with interest from FaZe, but now the team that appears closest to completing the move is HEROIC.
Who could be affected by this move
If the deal is completed, Simon “yxngstxr” Boije looks like the player who would lose his current place in the role setup. He became the emergency sniper after Alkaren was pushed out of active use, but from the very beginning that looked like a temporary solution rather than a long-term bet.
And that is another important point. HEROIC seem to want not just to add another player to the roster, but to return the roles to a more natural state. MartinezSa in this structure is needed not as an experiment, but as the player who fully takes over the AWP. That means the team is trying to move out of patchwork mode and into a clearer sporting plan.
Why this move looks especially strong right now
The best moment for such a move is right now. HEROIC cannot keep dragging out the uncertainty at the sniper position forever, while MartinezSa, on the contrary, is at the point in his career where taking the next step already makes sense. He has already proven that he can be stable under difficult conditions, and now the only question is whether he can bring that level into a more high-status international roster.
For HEROIC, this is also a chance to grab the player before the competition for him becomes tougher. The AWP market is not as wide as it may seem, and when an available candidate with a strong profile appears, clubs usually do not like to wait too long. That is why the advanced stage of negotiations looks especially telling here.
MartinezSa to HEROIC
A possible MartinezSa move to HEROIC looks like one of the most logical transfers of this stretch of the offseason. HEROIC need a stable AWP after the prolonged Alkaren issue, and MartinezSa fits that task in style, current form, and overall readiness for a stronger project.
If the deal is really completed, it could become a very important upgrade for HEROIC and at the same time the most serious individual step in the Spaniard’s career. Because this is no longer just about changing logos, but about moving into a completely different sporting category — one where a good AWPer is expected not to deliver occasional flashes, but steady impact on results.
