Berlin. September 8th, 2019. Astralis comfortably defeated AVANGAR 2-0, becoming four-time CS:GO Major winners. Xyp9x, gla1ve, dupreeh, Magisk, and dev1ce etched their names into CS:GO history books, crowned the first-and-only team to win three consecutive Majors. Everything was set for Astralis to build a dynasty for years to come…
Credit: StarLadder
History deems that core the best CS:GO team of all time. It’s tough to argue against Astralis, who defined the CS:GO meta seen to this day. Yet it never really happened for Astralis after Berlin 2019. Their slump reached a head in April 2021, when talismanic AWPer dev1ce left for Ninjas in Pyjamas. Magisk and dupreeh followed, joining Vitality in December 2021. Xyp9x and gla1ve persevered. Results didn’t improve, and Astralis became resigned to mediocrity – a swift and sharp fall from Berlin’s heights.
Hope manifested itself, as dev1ce made a dramatic return to Astralis in October 2022, after a ten-month mental health hiatus from NIP. There were concerns over his match fitness, but who cared? The King was back, and so were Astralis, with blameF in place of Magisk. Rookie Buzz was acquired from MASONIC to entry-frag, a theoretical match for dupreeh’s attributes. The Astralis rebuild was complete.
Trouble In Paradise
Early signs were promising. At no point did dev1ce look like he’d been out of the server for ten months. Buzz, while raw, showed signs of keeping up with top fraggers blameF and dev1ce. But against true Tier 1 opposition, this Astralis iteration has struggled so far, and in each game there’s a common denominator. Xyp9x and gla1ve look out of their depth. These players scaled unimaginable heights in CS:GO, reaching a pinnacle most players only dream of. With both players 27 years old, they should be in their prime. Instead, they resemble a duo that have seen the game pass them by, elders in a young man’s world. This isn’t the case. FaZe’s karrigan turns 33 next month, and remains at the summit. There’s no doubt that Xyp9x and gla1ve are struggling. While Xyp9x’s aim betrays him, gla1ve is calling like its 2018.
If this was a temporary blip in form, it’d be forgiven. This has been dire for years now, with seemingly no end. If Astralis are to challenge in CS:GO once again, they face a difficult choice. They must replace Xyp9x and gla1ve if they want to compete for the top prizes. It won’t be easy. Astralis as an organization are facing financial struggles, which is why they opted to take a chance on Buzz, rather than a more experienced head. Add in the fact dev1ce has played with the pair since 2016, forming a close bond, the team would risk upsetting their star man. With Xyp9x signing a contract until 2025, the move would take cajones and cash that Astralis just doesn’t have at the moment, but it’s becoming a necessity.
Possible Replacements in Astralis
When looking at possible replacements for the pair, there’s plenty to consider. Astralis have never had a permanent non-Danish player, limiting options. Their financial situation complicates matters, as choices can’t have enormous buyouts, but the stakes are too high to get it wrong.
For Xyp9x’s replacement, Astralis could crawl back to k0nfig after releasing him for a violent altercation last year, but that’s unlikely. More likely is es3tag, who spent three months with Astralis in 2020. The Dane filled in for FaZe at the recent BLAST Premier Spring Groups, showing he can compete among the elite in 2023. With es3tag currently benched by NIP, acquiring him is a tangible prospect for Astralis, and is our pick to replace Xyp9x.
The IGL situation is harder to solve. Among Danish IGLs, CadiaN will never play for Astralis, and karrigan is comfortable at FaZe. HooXi is building something at G2, while refrezh just isn’t the standard required. The answer lies internally. At Complexity, blameF was IGL. If he filled that role for Astralis without losing too much impact, he’d be perfect to take the reins from gla1ve.
To replace blameF’s lurking, there are several options. ENCE’s valde springs to mind, but he doesn’t look the player he was, either. We’d suggest Zyphon, who has been in and out among Sprout’s roster indecisiveness. He was underappreciated and underrated as part of Copenhagen Flames in 2021-2022, and at 19 has enormous potential. Astralis should swallow their pride, and move for a player they let leave their development team back in 2021.
BLAST.tv Paris 2023 will be the last CS:GO Major before CS2 takes over, but what a sign off it would be if Astralis make a deep run, reminding fans that class is permanent.
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