On November 24, the esports club Astralis announced the signing of contracts with Martin "stavn" Lund and Jacob "jabbi" Nygaard. In turn, Johannes "b0RUP" Borup and Christian "Buzz" Andersen were moved to the substitutes' bench. Such changes in the Danish organization's roster sparked mixed emotions within the community. In this article, Bo3.gg, along with experts, will discuss the prospects of the updated roster.
Unpleasant situation surrounding the transfer
It all started when, on October 4, the departure of Casper "cadiaN" Møller from Heroic was announced. As later became known from statements by club representatives, the initiative to exclude the captain from the active roster came specifically from stavn and jabbi. The esports athletes themselves deny this information.
In its statement, Heroic clarified that stavn and jabbi promised to extend their contracts with the organization immediately after cadiaN's exclusion. After some time, both players refused to negotiate and intended to move to Astralis after the expiration of their contracts. The management of Heroic sent the esports athletes to the bench until the situation was clarified, and an experimental roster competed in tournaments.
This situation negatively affected the previous Astralis roster. Rumors about the possible addition of stavn and jabbi created uncertainty within the team, which naturally affected the results. Players were under constant pressure due to the potential exclusion from the roster, leading to a failure at BLAST Premier: Fall Final 2023. Initially, Astralis lost the match against Complexity Gaming from a 12:2 score, but then lost 13 rounds in a row in a match against Heroic. As a result, Benjamin "blameF" Bremer's team finished last in the tournament.
Everyone hates Astralis
The community greeted the transfer of stavn and jabbi to Astralis with mixed feelings. Many fans began to compare this transfer with the actions of Nikolaj "HUNDEN" Petersen, who leaked confidential data from Heroic to third parties. Petersen also worked for Astralis despite having an active contract with Heroic.
radimtrake99 on Twitter: HUNDEN move was almost impossible to be 1uped by anything, but they did it.
bustermller on Twitter: Can't wait for their downfall.
headtr1ck in a comment for bo3.gg: The lineup is good, but they played dirty.
TmJ1027 on Reddit: Madness. How did this organization become the most hated team in CS? Feel sorry for dev1ce, honestly.
aightletsdodis on Reddit: The snake organization attracts snakes, what a shock.
Social media users were surprised by the decision to move Buzz to the bench. Some speculated that the Astralis management considers Staehr a more promising player.
ballsinyourmouth15 on Reddit: Buzz was their third-best player, why did they get rid of him? Staehr has like one good map every 20.
Jakaryus on Reddit: Why is Staehr staying? Dude is awful.
Past_Perception8052 on Reddit: Wow. I thought Buzz would stay.
Prospects of the new Astralis roster
The first thing that catches the eye when you look at the updated Astralis lineup is the shortage of support players. Someone from the roster will have to sacrifice the ambitions of a "killer" and requalify as a top support. At the moment, it's unclear which esports athlete will make such a sacrifice.
Next, it's worth noting that on paper, the new lineup looks significantly stronger. However, whether the players can find the necessary synergy will only be revealed with time. Fedir "KvaN" Zakharov, a caster at the Maincast studio who has been working in Counter-Strike since 2012, and has commented on numerous majors and S-tier championships, agrees with this statement.
«For Astralis, this is reinforcement that ideally should allow them to enter the top 5 in the world. If you put aside all the dirt about excluding cadiaN, etc., the replacements are successful.»
Fedir "KvaN" Zakharov
Our second expert, Konstantin "leniniw" Sivko, also has vast experience in commentating Counter-Strike matches. Working at the best tournaments in the discipline since 2013, he believes that Astralis made a good deal but won't wish them luck.
«The lineup looks good. I don't think the absence of support players is a problem. The best players are valuable because they can play well and adapt. Whether they put in Staehr and stavn or Staehr and jabbi doesn't matter. But after what stavn and jabbi did with Heroic, I won't wish Astralis luck.»
Konstantin "leniniw" Sivko
Conclusions
Overall, Astralis has assembled a competitive lineup that can contend for trophies. However, one should not expect phenomenal results right away in the initial matches. Players need to get used to each other, develop synergy, and work on strategies. The club's management has finally taken a step towards the top of the competitive scene. Perhaps, it's this roster that will create a new era for Astralis?
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