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Astralis CS2 Team Review

“The team that made esports meaningless” — this was once said about Astralis. Why? Well, this Danish team was ranked first in the world with such a big gap from their rivals that it seemed like competing with them was a losing proposition.

The core of the team, true legends of esports, have come a long way over more than 10 years of playing together: multiple ups, bitter defeats and incredible, still unbroken records. In this analysis from MelBet Pick’em, we will recall all the main moments in the history of Astralis CS2 and look at their future prospects.

Astralis History

The eSports organization Astralis was created in 2016 — although the story itself begins much earlier. The core of the team existed since 2013, wandering between different CS2 teams — Copenhagen Wolves, Team Dignitas and others. Its last refuge before the creation of Astralis CSGO was the American Team SoloMid.

In 2015, the players and their manager Frederik “realition” Byskov had a conflict with the TMS’s management, so the future founders of Astralis left TSM to found their own project. First — under the mysterious label “?”, or “Questionmark”, as they wrote at tournaments, then already under the brand of the legendary red “A”. Subsequently, Astralis will also open side squads to try their hand at FIFA, League of Legends and other games.

Astralis Founders

When the team decided to leave the old club and play freely and independently, they were helped to create their own organization by former TSM manager. It was Frederik ‘realition’ Byskov, as well as Jakob Lund Kristensen — the founder of Copenhagen Wolves, the team where dev1ce and dupreeh met. They became the main investors and managers of the club — however, the players of the Astralis CSGO roster, according to the contract, received their share of the organization’s shares, as well as voting rights.

The current CEOs of the club are Jakob Hansen and Nikolaj Nyholm. The position of CRO is still held by Jakob Lund Kristensen.

Astralis Initial Roster

When talking about the starting lineup of the current Danish CS2 Astralis, we must not confuse them with the Finnish CSGO club with the same name that existed until 2010. Our legendary Astralis was founded in January 2016 (or more precisely, back in 2015 as “Quesitionmark”), with the following players:

It was dev1ce, dupreeh and Xyp9x who made up the very same, united and assembled back in 2013 core of the Astralis CSGO roster. Although both karrigan and cajunb were also the most important connecting link of the team, having appeared in the TSM roster.

At the same time, the legend of CS 1.6 — Danny “zonic” Sørensen was invited to become the coach of the roster. With this roster (not counting the very soon replacement of cajunb with Kjaerbye) the team will begin to rise to its future peak — for example, in 4 months they will reach the semi-finals of Major Columbus 2016, taking 3-4 place.

Astralis Current Roster

One of the surprising facts that immediately catches the eye: in the 10+ years of existence of CS2 Astralis, the team has never had any non-Danish eSportsmen play. And now, as of August 2025, the Astralis CS2 roster consists of:

The last of the signed players is Rasmus “HooXi” Nielsen. He is the oldest among the Astralis players (30 years old), has a lot of experience, including 2 years in G2. Therefore, he turned out to be the most worthy candidate for captain. In recent years, CS2 Astralis has also changed several coaches. Currently, this position is occupied by Casper “ruggah” Due.

Despite the fact that, as it seems, the best years of Astralis CS are long behind them, the team continues to stay afloat, being a serious contender. Among the latest achievements of Astralis CS2 roster in S-tier tournaments are 3rd place at PGL Cluj-Napoca in February 2025 ($150,000 in prize money) and 2nd place at PGL Astana in May 2025 ($90,000).

Astralis Tournament Achievements

The main and unique achievement of the Astralis team is, of course, unbroken records. 4 majors won by one team, and three of them in a row:

As for the prize money, the team’s biggest prize was for winning the first initial season of the Intel Grand Slam (2017-2018) — for 4 matches won. Astralis became the first to take the traditional $1,000,000, paving the way for future IGS winners: Team Liquid, NaVi, FaZe and Vitality.

Astralis Legends

Astralis would not have achieved anything without its three founders: dupreeh, Xyp9x and dev1ce. The first of them is a versatile player who started as an entry fragger, but also became a talented sniper and riffler. He left the CS2 Astralis team during the COVID downturn, going to Heroic and then to Team Vitality. The second, Xyp9x, is a legendary Danish support, invisible, but incredibly cold-blooded. He was left alone against a superior enemy many times — and snatched victory from the enemy’s hands. Xyp9x decided to end his career in 2023.

Finally, dev1ce, or Nicolai Reedtz, is the main player and founder of the team. He can safely be called one of the best AWPers in the history of world CS — stable, has a fantastic reaction and deals gigantic damage. He temporarily left the team from 2021 to 2022, but is now back in action and has no plans to give up.

Astralis Upcoming Tournaments

Astralis next match will be held as part of FISSURE Playground #2, in September 2025. There, the team has every chance of winning, given their silver at Playground #1. More serious challenges, in the form of S-tier tournaments CS2, await the team at the end of autumn: the team made it to ESL Pro League Season 22 (in Stage 1), and also automatically qualified for Intel Extreme Masters Chengdu 2025, through VRS Global.

FAQ

When was Astralis founded?

Astralis is a project jointly created by players who broke away from their old clubs and their managers. It appeared in 2015 as the team “Questionmark”, and in 2016 it officially registered, having bought the right to use the name Astralis.

What is the current Astralis CS2 roster?

Since 2022, Astralis has had its founder, Nicolai “dev1ce” Reedtz, back. His teammates are players who have joined in the last two years: Jakob “jabbi” Nygaard, Martin “stavn” Lund, Victor “Staehr” Staehr, Rasmus “HooXi” Nielsen, and coach Casper “ruggah” Due.

What is Astralis’s position in the global CS2 ranking?

When the HLTV ranking was founded in 2015, Astralis (then simply “?”) players immediately got 2nd place. Today, in August 2025, 10 years later, Astralis ranking has fallen further — to 11th place (190 points). They rose higher in Valve ranking, to 9th place, but ESL World Ranking puts them only in 14th place.

Who is the captain of Astralis?

The new captain is 30-year-old rifler, Rasmus “HooXi” Nielsen. He joined Astralis CS from G2 Esports in June 2016. His first achievement in the position was 2nd place at FISSURE Playground #1 (S-tier) in July 2017, and $100,000 in prize money.

Who is the coach of Astralis?

The current Astralis coach, since March 2024, is 37-year-old Casper “ruggah” Due, an old acquaintance of “dev1ce”. He is an incredibly experienced specialist — before joining Astralis CS, he was a coach at OG for 4 years. In total, his experience as a coach is approaching the 10-year mark.

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