Director of Sports at Astralis: We will be among the best teams in the World for the Major in May
Despite a rough ending to 2021, there is still big confidence in the Astralis camp before the new year.
For the first time since its inception, Astralis is nowhere to be found in the top 5 on the world ranking at the conclusion of a year. The Danish Organization finished 2021 placed eighth after a year of change.
The five-man core, that had won three Majors in a row was cut short in April when Nicolai "dev1ce" Reedtz left Astralis to join Ninja in Pyjamas. Later on, both Peter "dupreeh" Rasmussen and Emil "Magisk" Reif also made their departure from the roster. In their place, the Danish duo from Complexity, Benjamin "blameF" Bremer and Kristian "k0nfig" Wienecke was brought in, while the young AWP'er Philip "Lucky" Ewald was set to fill the big shoes of dev1ce.
While the new lineup initially showed some promising signs at their first event at BLAST Premier Fall Finals, the last two events of the year left more question marks than answers.
The situation around the AWP is still a puzzle. Will Lukas "gla1ve" Rossander continue to take on the sniper role, or will Philip "Lucky" Ewald get the chance to redeem himself with his favorite weapon? While it is hard for an outsider to point fingers at the decision from a four-time Major winner, the Astralis in-game leader actually said it best himself in an interview before IEM Cologne and before Lucky joined the team.
- If we had an AWP player, I think we could be the best team in the world again. But since we don't have that, I don't see us taking the No.1 spot for quite some time.
We have the setup, the Organization, and the team to do it
The first big tournament of the new year will be IEM Katowice in February, where we will get some much-needed answers about the longevity of the roster. At the Astralis camp, there is optimism about the new project. In an interview with the Danish newspaper Berlingske, the Director of Sports, Kasper Hvidt, shared his expectations for the new year.
- With Lukas and Andreas as the culture carriers and with their abilities, I firmly expect that we will be among the best in the world when the first Major of the year comes in May. I expect Benjamin "blameF" Bremer and Kristian "k0nfig" Wienecke to excel as some of the best in the world in their roles in 2022. Philip "Lucky" Ewald will establish himself, and he will only be better and better as he is getting used to a new role.
Right now Astralis needs to fight off teams as NAVI, Gambit, Heroic, and G2 to be able to put themselves in contention as one of the best in the world again. A position that the Danes knows best of all with the team having spent an incredible 121 weeks on the number 1 spot in the world since it all started in January 2016.
- We are competing with many both new exciting teams and more established rosters. Our goal is to establish ourselves in the upper part of the rankings and to be a part of the endgame in the big tournaments. We have the setup, the Organization, and the team to do it, Kasper Hvidt, Director of Sports at Astralis says.
You can read the article in Danish here.
