It’s a reaction that could’ve been predicted (and was) to occur like clockwork as multiple stars from the professional Danish superstar team Astralis have taken a leave of absence from stress and burnout, being replaced by fantastic players that simply aren’t fully included on the Astralis playbook yet.
They’ve been playing and practicing together for roughly a week: it’s to be expected, frankly.
Yet that hasn’t stopped fans of the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive team from speaking their mind after a rough performance against NiP on June 1st, where they lost the one match BLAST Premier (7-16).
Peter ‘dupreeh’ Rasmussen took to Twitter shortly afterward to remind the passionate fans about precisely what they should expect in the near future from the powerhouse roster.
It’s an obvious statement, but that hasn’t removed many fans from feeling frustrated that their favored teams are currently on the backfoot while multiple organizations within the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive scene are attempting to figure out how to mitigate the long hours and constant grind from players lives.
It’s difficult to figure out a work/life balance when you’re competing against the best players in the world for sums that typically result in millions annually. It’s further difficult to take a break from practices and refining strategies when you can’t guarantee that other teams are doing likewise; a scenario that can put favored teams in the lower pegs of tourneys.
Truth be told, however, and the match wasn’t necessarily stand out for either new players JUGi or Snappi, who went -11 and -13 KDR, respectively during the single map of Train. Nicolai ‘ device’ Reedtz had the best performance regarding KDR with a final net of +1.
Unfortunately, however, NiP brought their A-game to the match and soundly defeated Astralis in both halves. Astralis began on T side where they netted 6 points, one with as detonation. NiP stepped into T on the second half, where they managed to decimate Astralis with well-planned flanks; of the seven points NiP scored in the second half, only one was a bomb detonation.
Astralis, as they stand currently, is a warning sign to teams around the globe in all sports regarding the necessity of ensuring that players have more than enough time to recuperate after long days of matches or practices.
Astralis is now GS 2, and will likely drop further as both Gla1ve and Xyp9x are nowhere to be seen. Management must figure out a means of circumnavigating this before it brings even more severe consequences; the esport world is surely watching Astralis staff at the moment as they attempt to wrangle their rosters.
