Astralis

Last updated

Astralis
Astralis logo.svg
Short nameAST
Games
FoundedJanuary 18, 2016;8 years ago (2016-01-18)
Location Denmark
Colors  
OwnerAstralis Group Management ApS
PresidentAnders Hørsholt
CEO
Head coach
  • Casper "⁠ruggah⁠" Due (CS2)
  • Baltat "AoD" Alin-Ciprian (LoL)
  • Kevin "Easilyy" Skokowski (R6 Siege)
Manager Kasper Straube Hansen
Website www.astralis.gg OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg

Astralis is a Danish esports organization. Best known for their Counter-Strike 2 team, they also have teams representing other games, such as FIFA , League of Legends and Rainbow Six Siege. The parent group of Astralis is the Astralis Group, who previously managed Origen and Future F.C. before the merger of all teams under the Astralis brand. [1] Astralis Group became the first esports organization to conduct an initial public offering, [2] and is traded as ticker Nasdaq Copenhagen :  ASTRLS. [3] Astralis's CS:GO team holds the most CS:GO Major Championships won at 4.

Contents

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive division

History

2018

On January 19, Astralis entered into the ELEAGUE Major in the United States with the group stages being played in Atlanta and the playoffs in Boston. Astralis, being the previous ELEAGUE major champions, were eager to claim the title and have a wonderful start for 2018 after a good run at the previous year. However, things didn't go as expected as they started the tournament by losing to Mousesports. The Danes found themselves in a pretty tough situation, but they managed to catch up by winning the second game against their old rivals North in a classic Danish derby. On the third day of the tournament, they got upset by Fnatic as the Swedes left them with no more losses to conceive during the group stage in order to qualify. In the end, Astralis were eliminated after a surprising loss against Cloud9, the team who later went on to win the major after winning a best-of-three grand final against the tournament favourites, FaZe Clan.

In February, Kjaerbye unexpectedly left Astralis to join North. Astralis were left scrambling for a fifth player but fortunately, they were able to sign Emil "Magisk" Reif a few days later. This would mark the beginning of an astronomical rise to the top and domination over the Counter-Strike scene. After a quarter-final finish at StarSeries S4 and a semi-final loss at IEM Katowice 2018, they reached the summit after a spectacular performance at DreamHack Marseille 2018, convincingly beating FaZe Clan, Fnatic, and Natus Vincere on their way to the title. Although they lost to FaZe Clan in the grand final after a narrow 3–0 best of five series at IEM Sydney 2018, they bounced back at ESL Pro League Season 7 Finals, swiftly defeating FaZe Clan and beating Team Liquid 3–1 to grab the trophy. They continued their dominance with trophies at ECS Season 5 Finals and ELEAGUE CS:GO Premier 2018, with a semi-final loss to Natus Vincere at ESL One: Cologne 2018 in between.

Astralis then crowned their era with their second Major title at FACEIT Major: London 2018, quickly beating FaZe Clan, Team Liquid, and Natus Vincere without dropping a single map in the playoffs. A mere 6 days later, they defeated MIBR 2–1 in the grand-final at BLAST Pro Series Istanbul 2018 – after having an undefeated 5–0 group stage – to continue their dominance over the scene. This dominance was brought on through meta-defining coordination [4] and utility usage, significantly leading in average utility damage per round. [5]

2019

At the IEM Katowice Major 2019, they picked up their third Major title, becoming the second team in CS:GO history (after Fnatic) to take home three Major titles, and the third to win two majors back-to-back. They made it into the New Champions stage after a convincing 3–0 score in the New Legends stage, beating Complexity Gaming, Cloud9 and Renegades. They then went through the New Champions stage without dropping a single map, beating Ninjas in Pyjamas, MIBR, and finally ENCE to secure the Major win.

Their dominance dropped off considerably after the IEM Katowice Major 2019, and had their spot taken by Team Liquid who had become the number one CS:GO team in the world.

Later on that August, Astralis attended the StarLadder Major: Berlin 2019. After winning their opening match against DreamEaters and G2 Esports, they lost their next match against NRG Esports, making history as they had the longest match in major history, 59 rounds in total. [6] After losing to NRG, they defeated CR4ZY and proceeded to the playoffs. Astralis faced off Team Liquid in the Quarterfinals, and after a surprising map pick, they won the series convincingly. They once again faced off against NRG Esports in the semifinals and won the series. Finally, Astralis faced off against Avangar in the Grand Finals. Astralis won the series dominantly making them the first CS:GO team ever to win three consecutive majors, and the first team to achieve four major wins total, passing Fnatic's record of three.

In November 2019, following consistent success and multiple championships with the team, Astralis' coach zonic was honored with the "Coach of the Year Award" at the Esports Awards 2019. [7]

2020

On March 22, 2020, Astralis announced the organisation was expanding the roster beyond the main five players, something unprecedented for CSGO teams at the time, signing Patrick "es3tag" Hansen from Heroic. [8] es3tag would join Astralis following the end of his contract with Heroic on July 1. On May 11, Astralis signed a seventh player, Jakob "JUGi" Hansen, who had been benched on North until then. On May 19, gla1ve, announced he was taking a break from CSGO due to stress-like symptoms, with JUGi to make his debut for Astralis. Nine days later, Xyp9x announced via Twitter that he will also go on an indefinite break to focus on his mental health. [9] [10] Marko "Snappi" Pfeiffer would stand-in for Xyp9x until es3tag joins the team. In July 2020, Astralis replaced JUGi with Lucas "Bubzkji" Andersen, while gla1ve returned to the active roster 4 months later. [11] [12]

In September 2020, Astralis Group announced the merger of all teams under the Astralis brand. [1]

In October 2020, Astralis would field Es3tag amongst Gla1ve, Dev1ce, Magisk and Dupreeh to claim 6 successive victories in a row during the group stages of ESL Pro League S12; a series streak only tarnished by one loss with Bubzkji in Es3tag's place. Later, at the group stages, Astralis would lose to Danish rivals Heroic only to complete a lower bracket run wherein they later claimed redemption against said rivals and went on to defeat Ukrainian rivals Natus Vincere in the grand finals.[ citation needed ]

2021

Following a change by Valve to major qualifiers to penalize 6-man rosters using mid-match substitutions, [13] [14] Astralis adjusted. [15]

In April 2021, after more than five years with the team, Nicolai "dev1ce" Reedtz left the organization and was signed by Ninjas in Pyjamas. During his tenure with Astralis, dev1ce had set the record for most MVP medals in Counter-Strike history with 18. [16]

In July 2021, gla1ve signed a new three-year contract through the summer of 2024 with Astralis. Later, Astralis completed the signing of Philip "⁠Lucky⁠" Ewald, an 18-year-old AWPer who had previously played for Tricked. [17] [18]

Astralis failed to reach the playoffs of the PGL Stockholm Major, leaving in the Legends group stage with one win and three losses. [19]

On November 4, Astralis announced the addition of former Complexity duo Benjamin "⁠blameF⁠" Bremer and Kristian "⁠k0nfig⁠" Wienecke as well as Alexander "⁠ave⁠" Holdt as the new head coach. Magisk, Dupreeh, and zonic were inactive while waiting for their contracts to expire in January 2022. [20]

2022

In January 2022, Magisk, dupreeh, and zonic left Astralis and were signed by Team Vitality.

On January 31, 2022, ⁠Bubzkji⁠ was released from his 18-month contract with Astralis. For most of his tenure in Astralis he was on the bench and played few maps, leading to pushback from the community. Bubzkji described the internal situation as being "stranded in a battle between the players and the organization. The organization maybe wanted me to play and saw me as the future, as I was the youngest, and the team wanted to give the old five a go as they have won so much — and I totally respected that. That meant that I got stuck as I didn't want to fight the organization and I didn't want to fight the team, either, and did what was asked of me from both sides." [21] Bubzkji went on to work for Danish broadcaster TV2. He had received offers from various teams but chose not to compete. He did not rule out returning to competition indefinitely.

On February 22, Asger "⁠Farlig⁠" Jensen was signed as the new primary AWPer, Lucky was benched. [22]

On May 4, Phillip "Lucky" Ewald announced that he will "search for new opportunities" as his contract with Astralis is set to expire in May. [23]

On September 20, it was announced that Kristian "k0nfig" Wienecke would miss the European Regional Major Ranking due to an injury. It was later announced on October 10 that his contract with Astralis was to be terminated, likely due to the circumstances around the injury. [24] The team fielded Mikkel "MistR" Thomsen from the Astralis Talent roster as a stand-in for the main roster.

On October 27, Nicolai "dev1ce" Reedtz returned to Astralis under a multi-year deal after his one and a half year tenure with Ninjas in Pyjamas. [25]

2023

On January 5 Astralis formally appointed Nicolai "HUNDEN" Peterson as Head Analyst after being unbanned by ESIC. [26] [27] This led to a lot of controversy due to circumstances surrounding his ban and how he became unbanned. [28]

He was banned for two years in August 2021 due to allegedly leaking "sensitive" documents to opponents, and was suddenly unbanned on December 2 following a meeting between the two parties. From HLTV: " So far, the only other thing that is now public knowledge is that ESIC deleted the original notice of sanction against HUNDEN on their website and the Dane made a point of thanking his legal team. "Matters have now been concluded on the basis of the agreed joint statement and further comments won’t be made," the 31-year-old tweeted. ESIC has also removed the original notice of charge announcement and other previous references to the case.

Astralis won CCT North Europe Series 3, an online tournament, after defeating Aurora Gaming in the grand final 2–1. [29]

On April 18, 2023, Astralis announced the transfer of Xyp9x from the main roster to the academy roster, and was replaced by Alexander "Altekz" Givskov. [30] Later that year, on June 22, Astralis benched gla1ve and replaced him with Victor "Staehr" Staehr, [31] in addition to the transfer of Altekz back to the academy roster and signing of Johannes "b0RUP" Borup. [32]

The new roster qualified for IEM Cologne 2023 following victories in the play-in over Team Liquid and Apeks. [33] At the tournament, Astralis suffered an early defeat in the opening round to G2, [34] before claiming victories against Ninjas in Pyjamas, MOUZ, and Natus Vincere to secure a playoffs spot in the quarter-finals. [35] Astralis would beat Heroic to advance to the semi-finals, [36] where they were eliminated from the tournament in a second loss to G2. [37]

Championships

Bold denotes a CSGO Major
TournamentLocationPlacementPrizeRoster
2016
ECS Season 2 Finals Anaheim, California, USA 1st$250,000Dupreeh · dev1ce · Xyp9x · Kjaerbye · gla1ve · zonic (coach)
2017
ELEAGUE Major: Atlanta 2017 Atlanta, Georgia, USA 1st$500,000Dupreeh · dev1ce · Xyp9x · Kjaerbye · gla1ve · zonic (coach)
IEM Katowice 2017 Katowice, Poland 1st$104,000
ELEAGUE Clash for Cash: The Rematch Atlanta, Georgia, USA 1st$250,000
2018
DreamHack Masters Marseille 2018 Marseille, France 1st$100,000Dupreeh · dev1ce · Xyp9x · gla1ve · Magisk · zonic (coach)
ESL Pro League Season 7 Finals Dallas, Texas, USA 1st$250,000
ECS Season 5 Finals London, United Kingdom 1st$250,000
ELEAGUE CS:GO Premier 2018 Atlanta, Georgia, USA 1st$500,000
FACEIT Major: London 2018 London, United Kingdom 1st$500,000
BLAST Pro Series: Istanbul 2018 Istanbul, Turkey 1st$125,000
IEM Chicago 2018 Chicago, Illinois, United States 1st$100,000
ECS Season 6 Finals Arlington, Texas, United States 1st$250,000
ESL Pro League Season 8 Finals Odense, Denmark 1st$250,000
BLAST Pro Series: Lisbon 2018 Lisbon, Portugal 1st$125,000
2019
IEM Katowice 2019 Katowice, Poland 1st$500,000Dupreeh · dev1ce · Xyp9x · gla1ve · Magisk · zonic (coach)
BLAST Pro Series: São Paulo 2019 São Paulo, Brazil 1st$125,000
StarLadder Major: Berlin 2019 Berlin, Germany 1st$500,000
IEM Beijing 2019 Beijing, China 1st$125,000
ECS Season 8 Finals Arlington, Texas, United States 1st$225,000
BLAST Pro Series: Global Final 2019 [38] Riffa, Bahrain 1st$350,000
2020
ESL One: Road to Rio Europe Europe 1st$33,000Dupreeh · dev1ce · Xyp9x · gla1ve · Magisk · zonic (coach)
ESL Pro League Season 12 Europe Europe 1st$99,000Dupreeh · dev1ce · Magisk · gla1ve · es3tag · Bubzkji · zonic (coach)
DreamHack Masters Winter 2020 Europe Europe 1st$60,000Dupreeh · dev1ce · Magisk · gla1ve · Xyp9x · Bubzkji · zonic (coach)
IEM Global Challenge 2020 Europe 1st$200,000

Counter-Strike 2 division

History

2023

Astralis' first tournament following the release of Counter-Strike 2 was Roobet Cup 2023 in October, where they finished 13–16th after losses to 9INE and Apeks. [39] The team was invited to the CS Asia Championships 2023 the following month, qualifying to the semi-finals following victories over Chinese roster Lynn Vision and ENCE. [40] Astralis were eliminated from the tournament after a 2–1 loss to MOUZ. [41]

On November 22, 2023, Astralis announced the release of gla1ve. [42] Two days later, jabbi and stavn transferred from Heroic, resulting in the benchings of Buzz and b0RUP. [43] On January 1, 2024, b0RUP departed from Astralis following his transfer to Sashi. [44]

2024

Astralis attended BLAST Premier Spring Groups 2024, where they reached the finals of their group against Team Vitality, following a win over debutants Team Falcons, [45] and a previous victory over Vitality. [46] The team fell to the play-in stage after a loss against Vitality in the group final, before defeating BIG Clan to qualify for BLAST Premier Spring Finals 2024. [47]

Astralis failed to qualify for IEM Katowice 2024 after losses to Heroic and ENCE. [48] [49]

Astralis failed to qualify for the PGL Copenhagen Major 2024, the first Valve-sponsored major in their home country of Denmark, after losing in the last chance qualifier to 9 Pandas. Many analysts criticized Astralis for their poor performance and a lack of leadership for having Staehr, their youngest and best performing player of the RMR, do the exit interview which is typically done by senior members of the team. As a result of their dismal RMR results, Astralis announced on February 28 that they will be benching blameF, whose contract with Astralis expires at the end of 2025. The RMR will also mark the end of R0nic's tenure as coach as former OG coach Casper "⁠ruggah⁠" Due will be making his coaching debut for Astralis in IEM Chengdu 2024. [50]

On February 29, Astralis announced the signing of Alexander "br0" Bro, who had previously played for Astralis' academy roster, from Ukrainian organization Monte. Astralis also announced that dev1ce would take over as the team's in-game leader, following the departure of previous leader blameF. [51]

Rosters

Astralis rosters
Counter-Strike 2
HandleNameNationality
jabbiNygaard, JakobDenmark
StaehrStaehr, VictorDenmark
dev1ce Reedtz, NicolaiDenmark
stavnLund, MartinDenmark
br0Bro, AlexanderDenmark
Buzz (I)Andersen, ChristianDenmark
blameF (I)Bremer, BenjaminDenmark
FIFA
HandleNameNationality
TecaLuana da Silva Santo, StephanieBrazil
Fortnite
HandleNameNationality
Th0masHDHøxbro Davidsen, ThomasDenmark
League of Legends
HandleNameNationality
FinnWiestål, FinnSweden
113Balcı, DoğukanTurkey
DajorRyppa, OliverGermany
KobbeKobberup, KasperDenmark
JeongHoonLee Jeong-hoonSouth Korea
Rainbow Six Siege
HandleNameNationality
DpfireMacway, MatthewUnited States
iconicIfidon, DavidUnited States
J90Burkard, JackUnited States
ShuttleDugger, AaronUnited States
ForrestBreaux, RomanUnited States

Legend:
  • (I) Inactive
  • (S) Suspended
  • (L) On loan
  • (2W) Two-way player
  • Emojione BW 1F503.svg Substitute
  • Cruz Roja.svg Injury / Illness

Company

Astralis Group A/S
Company type Public
Nasdaq Copenhagen:  ASTRLS.CO
FoundedJuly 31, 2019;4 years ago (2019-07-31)
Headquarters Copenhagen, Denmark
Number of employees
32 (2019)
Subsidiaries Astralis Group Management ApS (100%)

Astralis was originally founded by Danish startup RFRSH Entertainment ApS. It was split off into a wholly owned subsidiary called RFRESH Teams ApS in November 2018. [52] Due to concerns about conflict of interest with RFRSH-owned tournament series BLAST Pro Series, [53] RFRSH demerged Astralis In November 2019. [52] While RFRESH was renamed into Blast ApS in July 2019, [54] RFRESH Teams ApS renamed into Astralis Group Management ApS, [52] which became a wholly owned subsidiary of newly established Astralis Group Holding ApS. [55] In November 2019, Astralis Group became the first esports organization to conduct an initial public offering, [2] with Astralis Group Holding ApS reforming as Astralis Group A/S. [55]

Controversy

RFRSH Entertainment

In 2019, RFRSH Entertainment experienced criticism from the Counter-Strike community over the potential conflict of interest between Astralis and BLAST Pro Series, a tournament organized by RFRSH. RFRSH formerly represented and operated Astralis's strategic and commercial operations until Summer of that year. Astralis skipped several tournaments to attend BLAST Pro Series events. This, paired with the fact that certain teams had to attend a number of BLAST events every year, caused controversy in the community. In July, RFRSH announced to split from Astralis, though some in the community still criticized RFRSH and BLAST. [53]

FunPlus Phoenix and the signing of es3tag

In March 2020, the Chinese organization of FunPlus Phoenix (FPX), was in the process of signing the roster of Heroic, which included es3tag, shortly before the beginning of Flashpoint 1. Astralis signed es3tag which deterred FPX from signing the rest of the Heroic roster. [8] [56] FPX was a founding member of Flashpoint, so the Heroic roster could not continue playing in Flashpoint and had to be replaced by a team of FPX's choosing. FPX originally intended to field the American team of Swole Patrol, but disputes over naming rights led to FPX fielding Bad News Bears instead. [57] Astralis was criticized for knowingly signing es3tag while he was in the process of being signed by another organization and also for preventing the rest of the Heroic players from playing in Flashpoint and signing with FPX.

Related Research Articles

Mouz, formerly mousesports, is a professional esports organisation based in Germany. It fields teams in several games but is particularly known for its CS:GO team. MOUZ was one of the founding members of the G7 Teams. MOUZ's League of Legends team currently competes in the ESL Pro Series, having formerly competed in the European Challenger Series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">G2 Esports</span> European professional esports organisation

G2 Esports is a European esports organization headquartered in Berlin, Germany, with players competing in League of Legends, Valorant, Counter-Strike 2, Hearthstone, Rocket League, Rainbow Six Siege, Fortnite, and iRacing. The organization was founded in Spain on 24 February 2014 as Gamers2 by former League of Legends pro Carlos "ocelote" Rodríguez Santiago and investor Jens Hilgers. The organization rebranded as G2 Esports on 15 October 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Allu (gamer)</span> Finnish esports player (born 1992)

Aleksi Jalli, better known as allu, is a Finnish professional Counter-Strike 2 player for JANO. He previously played for Ninjas in Pyjamas and FaZe Clan as their AWPer. He has also played for 3DMAX, mousesports (mouz), ENCE, Rats of the Year, Team Curse, RAIDERS, The Hawks, and Team WinFakt.

dupreeh Danish professional gamer

Peter Rothmann Rasmussen, better known as dupreeh, is a Danish professional Counter-Strike 2 player for Team Falcons. He has played for Team Dignitas, Team SoloMid, Astralis, Team Vitality and Heroic. In 2023, he became the first and only player to win 5 majors in CS:GO, and to win 3 majors consecutively. Due to the Blast Paris Major 2023 being the last CS:GO major as a result of the subsequent PGL Major Copenhagen 2024 being played in the upcoming Counter-Strike 2, Rasmussen is the only player to participate in every CS:GO major.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ELEAGUE Major 2017</span>

ELEAGUE Major: Atlanta 2017, also known as ELEAGUE Major 2017 or Atlanta 2017, was the tenth Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Major Championship. It was organized by ELEAGUE and held in Atlanta, Georgia, United States from January 22 to 29, 2017. It featured sixteen professional teams from around the world. Eight teams directly qualified based on their top eight placement in the last major, ESL One Cologne 2016, while another eight teams qualified through the ELEAGUE Offline Major Qualifier. ELEAGUE Major was the third consecutive Major with a prize pool of $1,000,000.

The Intel Extreme Masters Season 12 – World Championship or IEM Katowice 2018 was the world championship for the twelfth season of the Intel Extreme Masters. It was held at the Spodek in Katowice, Silesian Voivodeship, Poland from February 27–March 4, 2018. The event featured tournaments for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and StarCraft II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NiKo</span> Esports athlete

Nikola Kovač, better known as NiKo, is a Bosnian professional Counter-Strike 2 player for G2 Esports. NiKo is often cited by many professionals and analysts alike to be one of the greatest players of all time in the history of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and the best rifler in the history of Global Offensive, and his 8x HLTV Top 20 Player Of The Year placings put him as joint 2nd for most top 20 player appearances in Global Offensive history.

<i>Counter-Strike</i> Major Championships Valve-sponsored tournaments in Counter-Strike

Counter-Strike Major Championships, commonly known as the Majors, are Counter-Strike (CS) esports tournaments sponsored by Valve, the game's developer. The first Valve-recognized Major took place in 2013 in Jönköping, Sweden and was hosted by DreamHack with a total prize pool of US$250,000 split among 16 teams. This, along with the following 18 Majors, was played in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. As of the 2023 release of Counter-Strike 2 (CS2), Counter-Strike esports, including the Majors, are played in CS2.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">IEM Katowice Major 2019</span> International tournament in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive

The Intel Extreme Masters Season XIII – Katowice Major 2019, also known as IEM Katowice Major 2019 or Katowice 2019, was the fourteenth Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Major Championship and the world championship for the thirteenth season of the Intel Extreme Masters. It was held in Katowice, Silesian Voivodeship, Poland from February 13 – March 3, 2019. Fourteen teams would qualify for the IEM Katowice Major 2019 based on their top fourteen placements from the last Major, the FACEIT Major: London 2018, while another ten teams would qualify from their respective regional qualifiers. The top eight teams from the London Major ("Legends") received a bye to the second phase of the group stage while the other sixteen teams ("Challengers") had to go through the first and second group stages in order to reach the playoffs. It featured a US$1,000,000 prize pool, the seventh consecutive Major with that prize pool. It was hosted by ESL, their first Major since 2016. This event was the start of the second season of the Intel Grand Slam.

s1mple Ukrainian gamer

Oleksandr Olehovych Kostyliev, better known as s1mple, is a Ukrainian professional Counter-Strike 2 player for Natus Vincere. He is considered to be one of the best players in Counter-Strike history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gla1ve</span> Danish esports player

Lukas Egholm Rossander, better known as gla1ve, is a Danish professional Counter-Strike 2 player for ENCE. Considered one of the best captains in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, he became the first to win 4 majors in CS:GO, and to win 3 majors consecutively.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Magisk (gamer)</span> Danish esports player (born 1998)

Emil Hoffmann Reif, better known as Magisk, is a Danish professional Counter-Strike 2 player for Team Falcons. He has won four majors in total, three in a row, a record he achieved with Astralis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">FunPlus Phoenix</span> Chinese esports organization

FunPlus Phoenix (FPX) is a Chinese professional esports organization owned by video game developer FunPlus. It has teams competing in League of Legends, Valorant, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Fortnite Battle Royale and PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Twistzz</span> Canadian esports player

Russel David Kevin Van Dulken, better known as Twistzz, is a Canadian professional Counter-Strike 2 player for Team Liquid. He has previously played for top teams such as Team SoloMid, Misfits, and FaZe Clan. Twistzz was named the MVP of ESL One New York 2018 and IEM Sydney 2019 by HLTV.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">PGL Major Stockholm 2021</span> CS:GO tournament

The PGL Major Stockholm 2021, also known as PGL Major 2021 or Stockholm 2021, was the sixteenth Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Major Championship. It was held in Stockholm, Sweden at the Avicii Arena from October 26 to November 7, 2021. Twenty-four teams qualified via regional major rankings. It featured a US$2,000,000 prize pool, a rise from the $1,000,000 of previous Majors due to the absence of offline competition amid the COVID-19 pandemic. It was the second Major hosted by the Romanian organization PGL, after PGL Major: Kraków 2017. Stockholm 2021 was the first Major after a break caused by the COVID-19 pandemic following the StarLadder Major: Berlin 2019. The Major was won by Natus Vincere, who did not lose a single map throughout the tournament.

Intel Extreme Masters Fall 2021 Europe was a Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CSGO) tournament organized by German company ESL and sponsored by American corporation Intel. Part of the sixteenth season of Intel Extreme Masters and one of the six events under the IEM Fall 2021 tournament, the event was used by Valve as the final Regional Major Ranking (RMR) event, to determine the participants of the PGL Major Stockholm 2021. Twenty-four teams competed for a US$105,000 prize pool, eleven spots at the major and for 2015 ESL Pro Tour Points, used by the organizer to determine the participants of its two main events each year—IEM Katowice and Cologne.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heroic (esports)</span> European professional esports organisation

Heroic is a Norwegian esports organization with teams competing in Counter-Strike 2, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, Sim racing and Rainbow Six Siege.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ence (esports)</span> Finnish esports organization

Ence is a Finnish esports organization with teams and players competing in Counter-Strike 2, PUBG: Battlegrounds, StarCraft II, and NHL 22. ENCE was founded in 2013 and the organization takes inspiration for its name from the Enceladus of Greek mythology. It is currently based in Helsinki and is the most popular esports organization in Finland. The organization also competed in Hearthstone and Overwatch until 2018, and in League of Legends for the 2020 season. ENCE is best known for its success in Starcraft II and CS:GO. Serral was the first non-Korean to win a StarCraft II World Championship and the CS:GO team finished second at IEM Katowice Major 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blast Paris Major 2023</span> CS:GO tournament

The BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023, also known as BLAST.tv Major 2023 or Paris 2023, was the nineteenth and final Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Major Championship. It was held in Paris, France at the Accor Arena from May 8 to 21, 2023. Twenty-four teams qualified for the event, which featured a US$1,250,000 prize pool, via regional major rankings. It is the first Major Championship tournament hosted by BLAST. Team Vitality won the major, defeating GamerLegion in the grand final 2–0.

References

  1. 1 2 "One Brand. One Family". astralis.gg. Retrieved September 16, 2020.
  2. 1 2 Seck, Tobias (December 20, 2019). "Surging Media Rights Revenues, a Franchised CS:GO League, and a $75M Valuation: Dissecting the Astralis Group IPO". The Esports Observer. Archived from the original on December 30, 2019. Retrieved January 20, 2021.
  3. "Investor Relations". astralis.gg. Retrieved March 8, 2023.
  4. "Gone, but not to be forgotten: The legacy of Astralis, the greatest team of all time (Part 2)". HLTV.org. Retrieved April 8, 2022.
  5. How Much Better is CSGO Today? , retrieved April 8, 2022
  6. "HLTV.org – Astralis vs NRG – StarLadder Major Berlin 2019". HLTV.org. Archived from the original on September 4, 2019. Retrieved March 27, 2020.
  7. "Esports Awards". November 17, 2019. Retrieved November 22, 2019.
  8. 1 2 "Astralis establishes permanent six-man roster". Astralis Group. Archived from the original on March 23, 2020. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
  9. "My situation". Twitter. Archived from the original on May 29, 2020. Retrieved June 7, 2020.
  10. "Andreas "Xyp9x" Højsleth on leave". Astralis Group. Archived from the original on August 30, 2020. Retrieved June 7, 2020.
  11. "Roster Change: Lucas "Bubzkji" Andersen replaces Jakob "JUGi" Hansen". Astralis Group. Retrieved September 4, 2020.
  12. "gla1ve is back for Pro League". Astralis Group. Retrieved September 4, 2020.
  13. "Valve unveils 2020 RMR stickers; announces points reset, coach limitations". HLTV.org. Retrieved April 8, 2022.
  14. "Counter-Strike: Global Offensive". blog.counter-strike.net. Retrieved April 8, 2022.
  15. "Bubzkji: "We had to rethink the whole idea of a six-man roster; I can now play multiple maps"". HLTV.org. Retrieved April 8, 2022.
  16. "NIP complete device signing". HLTV.org. Retrieved May 11, 2021.
  17. "gla1ve signs new three-year deal with Astralis". HLTV.org. Retrieved July 23, 2021.
  18. "Astralis reestablish extended roster with Lucky signing". HLTV.org. Retrieved July 26, 2021.
  19. "Vitality end Astralis' hopes of defending Major title". HLTV.org. Retrieved April 8, 2022.
  20. "k0nfig, blameF join Astralis; ave to coach". HLTV.org. Retrieved April 8, 2022.
  21. "Bubzkji on time in Astralis: "I was stranded in a battle between the players and the organization"". HLTV.org. Retrieved April 8, 2022.
  22. "Astralis sign Farlig". HLTV.org. Retrieved April 8, 2022.
  23. "Lucky set to leave Astralis". HLTV.org. Retrieved May 5, 2022.
  24. "Astralis and k0nfig part ways after player admits to fistfight". dotesports.com. October 10, 2022. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
  25. "He's coming home: Return of dev1ce". astralis.gg. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
  26. "Astralis sign HUNDEN as Head Analyst". HLTV.org. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
  27. @astraliscs (January 5, 2023). "With the appointment of our new Head Analyst, Astralis' performance organization is now in place, and all focus is now on the 2023 season" (Tweet). Retrieved January 14, 2023 via Twitter.
  28. "Banned, reinstated, banned again, cleared: The HUNDEN saga summarized". HLTV.org. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
  29. "Astralis wins CCT North Europe Series 3". egamersworld.com. Retrieved February 7, 2023.
  30. "Astralis moves Xyp9x to CSGO academy team as Altekz is called up". Dexerto. Retrieved April 18, 2023.
  31. "Sources: Astralis bench gla1ve, finalize Staehr transfer". HLTV . Retrieved June 22, 2023.
  32. "Official: Astralis add Staehr, b0RUP". HTLV . Retrieved June 22, 2023.
  33. "Astralis secure IEM Cologne group stage berth over Apeks". HLTV . July 27, 2023. Retrieved August 6, 2023.
  34. "G2 outlast Astralis to advance to upper bracket semi-final in Cologne". HLTV . July 29, 2023. Retrieved August 6, 2023.
  35. "Buzz stars as Astralis eliminate NAVI to make IEM Cologne quarter-final". HLTV . August 2, 2023. Retrieved August 6, 2023.
  36. "Astralis best Heroic to set up G2 semi-final". HLTV . August 4, 2023. Retrieved August 6, 2023.
  37. "G2 overpower Astralis; to face ENCE in IEM Cologne grand final". HLTV . August 5, 2023. Retrieved August 6, 2023.
  38. "Astralis beat Liquid to win BLAST Pro Series Global Final". HLTV.org. Retrieved March 22, 2020.
  39. "fnatic, Astralis eliminated from Roobet Cup". HLTV . October 28, 2023. Retrieved November 12, 2023.
  40. "Astralis top Group A over ENCE at CAC". HLTV . November 8, 2023. Retrieved November 12, 2023.
  41. "MOUZ through to CAC final over Astralis". HLTV . November 12, 2023. Retrieved November 12, 2023.
  42. Biazzi, Leonardo (November 22, 2023). "Legendary IGL gla1ve leaves Astralis ahead of rumored ENCE move". Dot Esports. Retrieved November 24, 2023.
  43. "Astralis sign jabbi and stavn". HLTV . November 24, 2023. Retrieved November 24, 2023.
  44. "Sashi sign b0RUP on short-term deal". HLTV . January 1, 2024. Retrieved February 1, 2024.
  45. "Astralis storm to victory and spoil Falcons' debut". HLTV . January 22, 2024. Retrieved February 1, 2024.
  46. "Astralis end Vitality's nine-match win streak". HLTV . January 23, 2023. Retrieved February 1, 2024.
  47. "Astralis inch past BIG to claim Spring Final berth". HLTV . January 28, 2024. Retrieved February 1, 2024.
  48. "Heroic defeat Astralis in IEM Katowice opener". HLTV . January 31, 2024. Retrieved February 1, 2024.
  49. "gla1ve masterclass sends Astralis home". HLTV . February 1, 2024. Retrieved February 1, 2024.
  50. NER0cs. "Astralis bench blameF after RMR fiasco". HLTV. HLTV. Retrieved February 28, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  51. "The homecoming of "br0", dev1ce takes over as IGL". astralis.gg. Retrieved February 29, 2024.
  52. 1 2 3 "Astralis Group Management ApS". Danish Central Business Register . Archived from the original on September 21, 2015. Retrieved January 20, 2021.
  53. 1 2 "Astralis to split from RFRSH Entertainment". HLTV.org. Retrieved June 7, 2020.
  54. "BLAST ApS". Danish Central Business Register . Archived from the original on May 10, 2021. Retrieved January 20, 2021.
  55. 1 2 "Astralis Group A/S". Danish Central Business Register . Archived from the original on May 19, 2021. Retrieved January 20, 2021.
  56. "FunPlus Phoenix's deal for Heroic roster in jeopardy as es3tag leans towards Astralis; Flashpoint spot uncertain *". HLTV.org. Retrieved June 7, 2020.
  57. "Bad News Bears replace Swole Patrol in Flashpoint 1". HLTV.org. Retrieved June 7, 2020.
Awards and achievements
Preceded by ELEAGUE Major 2017 winner
2017
Succeeded by
Preceded by FACEIT London Major 2018 winner
2018
Succeeded by
Preceded by Intel Extreme Masters Season XIII – World Championship Major winner
2019
Succeeded by
Preceded by StarLadder Major: Berlin 2019 winner
2019
Succeeded by

As of this edit, this article uses content from "Astralis" , which is licensed in a way that permits reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, but not under the GFDL. All relevant terms must be followed.