Astralis have announced the permanent addition of Rasmus ‘HooXi’ Nielsen to their Counter-Strike line-up, having joined the legendary Danish org initially as a stand-in in April.
HooXi was drafted in to IGL Astralis at PGL Astana after they missed their fifth consecutive major, losing the sixth place decider of the Austin Major EU MRQ to B8. The devastating loss marked the end of Casper ‘cadiaN’ Møller’s uninspiring reign as IGL.
Astralis showed unexpected form in Astana. The roster defeated Na’Vi and Aurora in the playoffs to make an unexpected appearance in the Grand Final before falling to Spirit 3-1, with Astralis’s individuals showing a resurgence of form under new leadership.
Despite a lack of officials since then, the four-time major-winning organisation must have liked what they have seen behind the scenes, as they have chosen to include the 30 year-old IEM Katowice 2023 and IEM Cologne 2023 winner on a permanent basis.
Astralis’s IGL-shaped hole
Astralis have struggled to fill the shoes of Lukas ‘gla1ve’ Rossander since his departure. Widely regarded as one of the best in-game leaders of all time, the Dane was the conductor of Astralis’s era of dominance. A continuous voice in one of CS’s most stable rosters, gla1ve’s removal was followed by a 2024 which saw Astralis field three separate IGLs in quick succession.
With Benjamin ‘BlameF’ Bremer, Nicolai ‘device’ Reedtz, who talked about his IGL style last year, and cadiaN all failing to get sustained positive performances out of Astralis’s $2 million investment in Martin ‘stavn’ Lund and Jakob ‘jabbi’ Nygaard, the org will be hoping the HooXi’s experience can lead the roster in the right direction.
Certainly, signs were positive in Astana, with stavn and Victor ‘Staehr’ Staehr both amongst the highest-rated players at the event. Staehr, largely a passive player in other Astralis iterations, was given more space to entry on T-side and did so hugely impactfully as Astralis made their Grand Final run.
Astralis’s financial woes
The announcement comes just hours after Richard Lewis released his latest Substack. Reflecting Astralis’s financial reports, the piece outlines the Danish organisation’s commercial woes, which reportedly may lead to the sale of organisational assets, including its CS2 roster. Regardless of the uncertain monetary future, the organisation seem to be banking on HooXi’s leadership for the time being.
Astralis will play next at IEM Cologne 2025. Check out the odds at our Esports Betting Sites.
Darragh Harbinson is an esports writer specialising in Counter-Strike. He has written for Esports News UK, Esports Insider, UKCSGO, Dexerto, and Rush B Media.
