In a significant roster change, Danish esports organization Astralis has benched in-game leader Casper “cadiaN” Møller after just seven months with the team. Rasmus “HooXi” Nielsen will step in as a stand-in for the upcoming PGL Astana event, scheduled to begin on May 10.
This move comes in the wake of Astralis failing to qualify for their fifth consecutive Major, following a loss to B8 in the European MRQ sixth-place decider match. Additionally, the organization announced the departure of Sports Director Kasper Straube.
cadiaN joined Astralis in a surprising move, taking on the role of a rifling in-game leader. However, the team struggled to achieve consistent results, with only two notable campaigns at the BLAST World Final and PGL Cluj-Napoca. Individually, cadiaN faced challenges after relinquishing his AWP duties, averaging a 0.86 rating during his tenure and not recording a single event rated above 1.00.
HooXi, who has been inactive since being benched by G2 in July 2024, will make his Astralis debut at PGL Astana. The 29-year-old has not played a match featured on HLTV since his benching.
Astralis CEO Jakob Hansen commented on the changes:
“As a consequence of our lackluster results, culminating in the missed Major qualification, we are today parting ways with Sports Director Kasper Straube and In-Game Leader Casper ‘cadiaN’ Møller. Casper has proven himself to be a true professional; however, in the end, neither he nor the team managed to reach the level of play we had all hoped for. We wish Casper all the best going forward.”
The Astralis roster for PGL Astana will consist of:
- Nicolai “device” Reedtz
- Martin “stavn” Lund
- Jakob “jabbi” Nygaard
- Victor “Staehr” Staehr
- Rasmus “HooXi” Nielsen (stand-in)
- Casper “ruggah” Due (coach)
Fans will be watching closely to see how these changes impact Astralis’s performance at PGL Astana.
