Dev1ce sheds light on Astralis break and mediocre results

Astralis, the all-conquering Danish roster has been demolishing the CS:GO scene for the past 2 years, winning an astounding amount of trophies in 2018 and 2019. This dominance has caused the community to call them the best team of this period, with some experts even crowning them as the greatest to ever play the game. 

All great empires end though, and it seems like the Danish one could be coming to one. Constantly competing on the highest level has enacted a heavy price on the players, and Lukas “gla1ve” Rossander with Andreas “Xyp9x” Højsleth confirm this thesis, as the two have decided to take a break for an uncertain amount of time for health reasons.

Astralis have had a difficult 2020 with core players taking extended breaks. (Picture: BLAST)

Since then Astralis has failed to find it’s true form,  failing to qualify for the BLAST Premier Europe Finals, finishing outside the top 8 at DreamHack Masters Spring and falling out of HLTV’s top 5 for the first time since April 2018.

In last night’s HLTV Confirmed, Nicolai “dev1ce” Reedtz gave his perspective on the latest internal changes in the team. His answers might not be that surprising, but truly intriguing nevertheless.

When asked about the team’s perspective going into 2020, the twenty-four-year-old sniper said that certain players needed a break for a long time, it was just the thing of timing it correctly. Astralis thought that this year was thoughtfully planned, with things like which tournament the squad will attend settled. As we know now, it didn’t turn out exactly how it was supposed to.  

At the same time, the Dane shed some light on the circumstances of now inactive in-game leader, gla1ve, taking the time off and stepping back from the roster. 

Rossander wasn’t the only one settling down for a break. Quickly after his departure, Xyp9x, who has been an integral part of the core three for many years, followed in his footsteps.

• Read More: Astralis seek Xyp9x stand-in as the Danish superstar takes a break

As an answer to the two leaving, it’s natural that the organisation has started looking for substitutes, and the first one picked up was Patrick “es3tag” Hansen, although he wasn’t considered to fill gla1ves’ shoes. 

Following the answer, dev1ce was asked how Emil “Magisk” Reif took the in-game leader role. The twenty-two-year-old has always been one of the most explosive players on stage, which made him unfit for a leader in the eyes of many. 

As of now, Astralis’ roster consists of three that have won 3 Majors straight, Jakob “JUGi” Hansen and es3tag, who is expected to join the active roster after his contract with Heroic expires. With that in mind, squad’s sniper has been asked what are the plans for the future, who will be playing in the most important tournaments, with gla1ve and xyp9x on the bench, and most importantly, who will make that call. 

Astralis are not scheduled to take part in any confirmed matches or tournaments in the near future. Dev1ce said that the team is looking forward to a break, which will last around a month. After the return, we will be able to see the new incarnation of the squad in action.