Kristian “k0nfig” Wienecke was once among the Counter-Strike elite of players in the world before his career took a decline and ended last summer, where he made the transition to become a player agent. In a recent appearance on the Danish podcast Bootcamp, he shared candid details about his career – including the salary figures that are usually kept strictly secret. The story and quotes were picked up by Dust2.dk.
The former entry fragger opened up about the massive amounts of money he earned during his time with Complexity and Astralis, giving a rare first-hand account of the negotiations. You can hear the podcast (in Danish) here.
The $30,000 ultimatum
k0nfig shared a specific story from his negotiations with Complexity CEO Jason Lake in 2019. Initially, the offer on the table was significant, but k0nfig soon realized he had undervalued himself after speaking with his teammate, Benjamin “blameF” Bremer.
“I remember talking to Jason Lake. He wants me, so he offers me 15,000 (USD),” k0nfig said on the podcast. “I want that. Then I talk to Benjamin and ask ‘what do you get?’ He gets 30. Then I was like: ‘Fuck me, I made a bad deal’.”
Realizing the discrepancy, k0nfig took immediate action before putting pen to paper.
“So I call Jason and say: ‘I’m damn well not going to sign that. Unless you give me 30, then I’ll sign it’.”
According to k0nfig, Jason Lake wasn’t thrilled, but after two days of silence that left the player in a panic, the Complexity CEO returned with a new contract matching the $30,000 demand.
Big earner in Astralis
k0nfig also discussed his earnings during his time in Astralis from late 2021 to 2022. He revealed that his salary peaked at approximately 175,000 DKK per month (roughly $25,000 USD).
He candidly admitted that the high pay persisted even when the team atmosphere deteriorated.
“I got a great salary, [even] where I thought it was terrible to sit and play,” k0nfig said. “I think I was up at 175K DKK.”
The now 28-year-old Dane played with CS legends such as Xyp9x and gla1ve in a tumultuous time for Astralis, where the team struggled to live up to their glorious past. In a recent article, we estimated Astralis to be a bit lower on the budgetlist of the top-tier organizations today. You can see the article here.
