Health issues cost Astralis a playoff run this time.
Astralis have been eliminated in yet another tournament in the group stage. This time, it was at the hands of Aurora Gaming.
The loss comes under unfortunate circumstances as device had to sit out the match due to food poisoning. Playing with stand-in ruggah, Astralis almost took the series against a frail-looking Aurora, but it was not enough to get them over the line.
Since their finals runs at PGL Astana and Fissure Playground 1, Astralis have only passed the group stage once over four tournaments. This does not include the Esports World Cup, where they were immediately eliminated by losing to TYLOO.
Individual health issues stifle team recovery
Device’s sickness proved untimely, as Astralis looked to recover from a topsy-turvy run at PGL Bucharest 2025. Defeating 3DMAX 2-0, a team that recently made the grand final of CAC, Astralis had one more chance to make it to the playoffs. But then, device had to sit out the deciding match against Aurora.
This is not the first time that health issues have put device out of commission at key moments in tournaments. The 2-time Major MVP most recently had to miss the Shanghai Major 2024, due to “stress-related health issues”, which have existed throughout his career. Astralis failed to make it past the qualifier at this event with br0 standing in.
Going into the Budapest Major, ruggah said to HLTV that he believes that “the ball is in their court” due to having experienced players, and that the extra pressure will benefit Astralis.
