The road to becoming “Mr. Consistent” – device’s career
In this article, we take a look at device’s journey to the top of Counter-Strike. This is how the Danish AWPer became one of the greatest CS:GO players of all time.
The country of Denmark has always been a recognizable region within Counter-Strike, dating all the way back to 1.6. Then, players like Danny “zonic” Sørensen and Martin “trace” Bang Heldt used to rule the roost, before CS:GO Major tournaments was even a thing. But the country of Denmark really got its name cemented in the history books of Counter-Strike with the rise of TSM and later Astralis. One specific player was at the center of the superstar team Astralis; and without him, their era probably wouldn’t have become a reality.
Nicolai ”device” Reedtz
Born: September 8, 1995 (26 years)
Country: Denmark
Team: Ninjas in Pyjamas (Currently benched)
Role: Main AWPer
Approx. Total Winnings: $1,949,050
All-time stats
Total kills: 36293
Headshot %: 35.0%
K/D Ratio: 1.25
Rating: 1.16
ADR: 80.3
KPR: 0.78
Impact: 1.28
KAST: 71.2%
The beginning of device’s career
device’s career in Counter-Strike started out in Counter-Strike: Source when he was still a teenager. At the age of just 13, device played at his first local LAN in 2009 before grinding his way up the ranks. 2 years later, device had already established himself as one of the rising talents in Denmark and was playing for Copenhagen Wolves, but no one would have guessed what he was really capable of. At the time, the Dane had problems holding a team for long due to motivation issues as his time was split between badminton, studies, and Counter-Strike, which made it hard for him to focus and get better. During 2013 device still faced the same problems, and kept falling in and out of teams. A knee injury ended up holding him back from playing badminton and shortly after device decided to really start developing his skills.
Not long after CS:GO was released, device teamed up with Danish players from Counter-Strike 1.6 like Marco “Snappi” Pfeiffer and Danny “BERRY” Krüger, but their partnership wouldn’t last forever. The Dane eventually ended back up in Copenhagen Wolves, where he would finally achieve stability alongside dupreeh and Xyp9x, who both ended up being his teammates for a long time. Despite a messy start to the year, device still turned 2013 into something positive and his team managed to pick up some good results, including top-eight finishes at DreamHack Summer and at the first CS:GO Major ever. DreamHack Winter 2013. Due to the messy start of 2013, device wasn’t in contention for a spot in HLTV’s Top 20 Players of 2013, which ended up being the only ranking he has missed to this day.
“I don’t think you can put a date and a time to when Counter-Strike became a priority, but with injuries in badminton and my progress in CS, it was a development that came naturally to me quite early. I’ve always been committed to what I do, when I do it, so it is more a matter of how much time I spend on one thing, in this case, Counter-Strike. When you start winning and people start talking about you in positive terms, you tend to seek the feeling of accomplishment – that goes for me as well. It’s a positive circle as you start doing more of what you’re good at, which makes you do better and at some point, that’s what you do.” – device via HLTV.
In 2014, the team joined Dignitas and here device and co. started to get international recognition. They reached the semi-finals at EMS One Katowice 2014 and ESL One: Cologne 2014, and naturally, device started to grab attention for his impressive level. Unfortunately, the team was unable to secure a single trophy as some of the players, including device, showed a tendency to go missing in the most important games. Still, device was able to break into HLTV’s Top 20 Ranking of 2014 at No.20, mostly due to his impact and his fragging output at smaller events. Important and big match performances held the Dane back, but things only went up in 2015 when the team bid farewell to Dignitas and joined TSM, who brought in Finn “karrigan” Andersen as their new in-game leader. Under the TSM banner, device and co. reached new heights and were able to secure their first tournament victory at CCS Kick-off Finals, where device earned his first MVP medal. TSM broke their title drought, established themselves among the elite, and continued on to win a total of five events during 2015, with device showing up at all the important matches. The Dane claimed a total of four MVP medals and ended up with a third place in HLTV’s Top 20 Ranking of 2015, right behind Olof “olofmeister” Kajbjer and AWPer Ladislav “GuardiaN” Kovács.
“There are a lot of factors and a lot of people who deserve credit for the way we developed as players but also as individuals. Karrigan’s role should not be underestimated, and he gave me a lot. His passion and sense of the game at that time was something that affected everybody he played with, and it certainly gave us more room to do what we do best. That being said, both dupreeh and I were at a stage in our development where we constantly kept on pushing ourselves. No doubt we have a special connection and common feel for the game, and I am not sure I’d be the same player without Peter (dupreeh) beside me at an early age. But again, there are many people who could be on that list…” – device told HLTV.
device and the rest of the squad parted ways with TSM as 2016 rolled around and big changes were laying ahead. Astralis was formed, and device picked up full-time AWPing duties. Previously, it had been René “cajunb” Borg and Nicolaj “Nico” Jensen who wielded the mighty green, but when the two parted ways with the team in 2016, device began to master a new role after having played as a hybrid in the previous years.
“I watched demoes of all the top AWPers and tried to develop my own style, I made a google doc with which moves I needed to try on specific maps and sides, and then I evaluated which worked for me, and that would be my go-to. Then in the latter part of the year, I used a program that shows an overview heat map and then shows my tendencies and I tried to become more diverse, especially on the CT-side.” – device about his role change at the time in an interview with HLTV.
Despite the new role and changes in the squad, with Lukas “gla1ve” Rossander and Markus “Kjaerbye” Kjærbye replacing karrigan and cajunb, device remained incredibly consistent and flawlessly adapted to the new system. He secured his fifth MVP medal at ECS Season 2 Finals and finished every tournament with +1 ratings to land another third place in HLTV’s Top 20 Player Ranking, this time behind two of Brazil’s greatest players in Marcelo “coldzera” David and Gabriel “FalleN” Toledo.
device’s first Major title
In 2017, everything changed for Astralis and device. At the ELEAGUE Major: Atlanta 2017, the tenth CS:GO Major tournament in the history of CS:GO, Astralis confirmed their status as the best team in the world at that time by beating everyone who had stopped them in the past during Major playoffs. They took down NAVI in the quarter-finals to advance to the semi-finals, where they defeated fnatic and locked in a spot in the Grand final. The Grand final of the ELEAGUE Major: Atlanta 2017 saw Astralis take upon the Polish squad from Virtus.pro who had only lost one map in the tournament. The match turned out to be a really dramatic one but saw Astralis come out on top to claim the title, which put them in the spotlight back home with plenty of media attention. Unfortunately for device, his level dropped considerably in the grand final of the event, which ultimately ended up costing him the MVP medal and leaving him with mixed feelings.
“To be fairly honest, I was feeling happy with my performance in some matches, it was still very early in my full-time AWPing career and I had a rough time against some playstyles, but in general I was happy with most of the games except the final, in which I felt like I hit a wall with every move. That is also why I had a hard time really being happy after the game since it was frustrating to an otherwise great tournament run. Kjaerbye stepping up in that game made me really happy, obviously, since he was a big part of why we succeeded in the last two games, together with the rest of the team.”
More than 1.2 million viewers tuned in to watch the Major Grand final, setting a new record at the time for CS:GO audiences as the Danish powerhouse bagged the Major title with a victory over Virtus.pro’s legendary roster to make CS:GO history.
Astralis carried on the good form into IEM Katowice 2017 where device and company also secured the title, their second of the year. IEM Katowice 2017 also brought device his second EVP mention, and during his first year as the main AWPer, he picked up six EVP’s from a total of 12 events. But even though all this sounds amazing, Astralis failed to keep up until the end of the year and dropped down in team ranking, lagging behind FaZe and SK Gaming, while missing a chance to win their second Major title after a 1-2 semi-final loss against Gambit.
device ended up missing the last three events of the year due to a hiatal hernia that forced him to take a sick leave in order to get his health back before the beginning of 2018. His solid numbers throughout the year helped him end 2017 as the fifth-best player in HLTV’s Top 20 Player Ranking of the year.
The most dominant side to ever grace the game
Astralis’ Danish AWPer was able to return to the servers a couple of months after, and the team would go on to make history in 2018 and 2019 by becoming the greatest squad CS:GO fans had ever seen. During 2018, Astralis secured title victories at ten events, including a Major win at FACEIT London Major 2018 after Emil “Magisk” Reif replaced Kjaerbye on the roster, and four Intel Grand Slam eligible events - DreamHack Masters Marseille, ESL Pro League Season 7 Finals, IEM Chicago and ESL Pro League Season 8 finals to become the first Intel Grand Slam champions ever.
Astralis were an unstoppable unit with the new meta and a lot of their success was down to their star AWPer in device, who won seven MVP awards and seven EVP mentions during the year, breaking Christopher “GeT_RiGhT” Alesund’s famous record from 2013 for the highest number of medals won in a single year. device also averaged a 1.24 rating for the year, however, he had to settle for second place in HLTV’s Top 20 Player Ranking of the year due to Aleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev hitting unbelievable peak levels.
Fast-forward another year that story repeated itself in 2019. Astralis and device stayed the path and fully dominated the scene. At the IEM Katowice 2019 Major tournament, the 14th Major Championship in CS:GO history, Astralis once again grabbed the title with incredible team play, utility usage, and the ability to play comfortably on all of the maps in the map pool. A 2-0 victory over ENCE in the Grand final saw Astralis cement their status as the strongest team, and they didn’t plan to slow down anytime soon.
After the summer break, Astralis went on to win the StarLadder Berlin Major 2019 and not only got $500,000 richer but also became the only team to have won three consecutive CS:GO Major Championships in a row and four in total, while boasting an 18-game winning streak in Majors’ Champions Stage matches. The Danish powerhouse surely reminded the Counter-Strike community that they were the best lineup in the world, arguably the best ever.
His 14th MVP award
On the Grand final day at the StarLadder Berlin Major 2019, Astralis’ AWPer, device, had one hell of a night. Not only did he clinch the title and secure his 14th MVP award of his career, but also got to experience the entire Mercedes-Benz Arena sign “Happy Birthday” to him shortly after the Grand final victory as he turned 24 years on the same day.
He was crowned the Major MVP with a phenomenal average Impact Rating of 1.47 in the playoffs and ended up being the top fragger throughout the entire series in the knockout stage. He was ranked first for KDD (+81), with a total of 313 kills and 148 AWP frags, while also featuring in the leaderboards in several other categories, most notably rating (1.26), clutches won (7), kills per round (0.82), and opening duels (65.8%).
device had solidified himself as the most consistent player of all time and had remarkable peaks as well as great impact inside the server, but unfortunately, had to see the young French phenom, Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut and the Ukrainian beast, s1mple, placed ahead of him in HLTV’s Player Ranking of 2019.
A challenging year and another individual third-place
2020 was a year filled with many challenges for Astralis but also the entire CS:GO scene overall due to the COVID-19 pandemic and switch to online play. Xyp9x and gla1ve took leaves because of burnouts, while Jakob “JUGi” Hansen, Patrick “es3tag” Hansen, and Lucas “Bubzkji” Andersen stepped in for the team at different times. Despite a chaotic year and a Danish roster that had a hard time finding stability, device still managed to display good form, claiming six EVP awards and three MVP medals. Once again, the Dane had to settle for another third-place in HLTV’s Top 20 Player Ranking behind ZywOo and s1mple, but rightfully earned his nickname as “Mr. Consistent” by being in the Top 5 six years in a row.
“I would love to be No. 1 on the list before I am done with Counter-Strike, but If you talk about goals for 2021, the fifth star on the jersey is much higher on that list.”
CS:GO’s biggest shock transfer ever?
The Danish AWPer shocked the entire CS:GO world when he announced his signing with Ninjas in Pyjamas from Sweden, leaving his longtime team and teammates, and putting an end to his historic 5-year long tenure with the Danish organization.
“Astralis has been such a big part of my life, the team, and the organization, and I say goodbye to a bunch of awesome teammates and great people in the organization, many of whom I am very close with. Astralis will always be a part of me, and I look forward to meeting everybody again on and off the server.”
“I enter a project I truly believe in, and I am looking forward to finding the stability and good energy of having a more balanced work life. I can’t wait to get started with my new team and teammates. It has become clear, how much I miss having a team and an organization close to me, and for so many reasons the time simply feels right to change things up and find myself in all this.”
Ninjas in Pyjamas and device kicked off the year on a high note, coming in second place at Flashpoint 3 with the Danish AWPer becoming EVP on the back of a 1.12 Rating, 76.5 ADR, 1.19 Impact, and 70% KAST.
“I think I will leave a better legacy and mark in Counter-Strike history if I can actually win a Major and create an era in another team rather than becoming the best player in the world, which is always going to be subjective in some way.”
After Flashpoint 3, things kind of cooled down for NiP and device who faced a string of unsatisfying results, including a 7-8th place at the IEM Summer event. When CS:GO’s return to LAN events became a reality at IEM Cologne, device shined in the Play-In stage and averaged a 1.42, but unfortunately failed to bring the same level into the main event, where he and the rest of the team ran into struggles, ultimately resulting in a 9-12th place finish.
The Dane was able to dominate at BLAST Premier Fall Groups in their three victories over BIG (twice) and G2, ending the event with a 1.25 Rating, 80.3 ADR, and 1.27 Impact rating. At IEM Fall, NiP secured their best tournament finish, with device claiming the MVP award after delivering a 1.35 Rating in 15 maps.
The Stockholm Major – NiP’s big goal
PGL Major Stockholm 2021 was NiP’s biggest goal when they decided to bring in device. After two early wins over MOUZ and Astralis, NiP looked dangerous. But then two losses followed to NAVI and Gambit, which left NiP in a bad position. However, they were able to lock in a spot at the Acivii Arena in front of a home crowd with a dramatic overtime victory over CPH Flames in the deciding Swiss match. Their dream of securing a Major title on home soil got crushed when G2 took them down comfortably 2-0 in the quarter-finals of the event, in which device was unable to help his team with a big performance, ending the series with a disappointing 0.92 rating.
device’s stats at PGL Major Stockholm:
Maps: 11
Rounds: 291
K-D Diff: +15
K/D: 1.08
Rating: 1.04
Medical leave
After the Major in Stockholm, NiP flew to Copenhagen for the BLAST Premier Fall Finals with a new player in device’s countryman Patrick “es3tag” Hansen. Here, at the second and final arena event of the year, Ninjas in Pyjamas completely disappointed and lost their first match against the new-look Astralis, before getting knocked out of the tournament in the lower bracket, following a 1-2 loss against Liquid.
device was left devastated and ended the event with another average rating (1.00).
Back for another tournament in Sweden, IEM Winter, device performed well and displayed good form, leading NiP to the semi-finals before he sadly had to cut the event short due to medical issues, which forced him to step away from the starting lineup. The Swedish-Danish squad managed to secure a 2-1 win over G2 in the semi-finals without device, before getting smashed by Vitality in the Grand final with a 0-3 result. The Danish AWPer also ended up missing the entirety of BLAST Premier World Final.
“NiP and my teammates have been very understanding in letting me work on my mental well-being for the end of the year. I have been taking active steps towards recovery and am looking forward to putting in the work that will enable me to get back to the top of my game and be the best version of myself.”
Until this day, device is still out on medical leave from the competitive scene. Read more right here:
We hope to see device back on the server soon.
