CS:GO – Another Astralis player steps down

Astralis loses another core member as Xyp9x has decided to go on medical leave. Initially making waves by signing more than the traditional five man roster, Astralis now face severe roster issues.

Andreas “Xyp9x” Højsleth published a statement on Twitter citing mental health as main reason to take a break from the competitive scene.

This move follows in the wake of Lukas “gla1ve” Rossander also taking a step back to improve his mental health and prevent burn-out.

Snappi to stand in

For the upcoming matches Marco “Snappi” Pfeiffer will start as subsitute for Xyp9x. The Dane was recently benched by Heroic and has played with Jakob “JUGi” Hansen in the past.
Before settling on Snappi Astralis allegedly asked several other top tier teams in CS:GO. DBLTAP reports that Jonas “Lekr0” Olofsson – currently benched by Ninjas in Pyjamas – was Astralis’ first pick. It is even rumored that the Danish team asked direct opponents G2 Esports and Vitality.

Astralis imploding?

Several experts are suspecting conflict or deeper issues behind closed doors as the departure of two of Astralis’ pillars in short succession leaves many questions open.

Although these are just rumors and hearsay it does seem that Astralis is facing a difficult transition period. It remains to be seen if Astralis’ current roster issues will have long-term effects on the team’s dominance in recent years.

The current Astralis roster:

  • Nicolai “device” Reedtz
  • Peter “dupreeh” Rasmussen
  • Emil “Magisk” Reif
  • Jakob “JUGi” Hansen
  • Marco “Snappi” Pfeiffer
  • Danny “zonic” Sørensen (Coach)

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Pictures via HLTV.org
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