Astralis secure phzy and ryu

Darragh Harbinson, Senior Editor

Last Updated: 08/01/2026

Astralis have announced the signings of Love ‘phzy’ Smidebrant and Gytis ‘ryu’ Glušauskas, completing their 2026 roster.

The AWPer and rifler replace Astralis legend Nicolai ‘dev1ce’ Reedtz and Martin ‘stavn’ Lund, who mutually parted with the organisation following a period of absence.

The move sees Astralis transition to English comms, as the organisation moves away from its traditional all-Danish lineups.

Assessing Astralis’ new signings

phzy will be the known entity for Counter-Strike fans, having shown a strong AWPing level in Tier 1 with Wildcard.

phzy’s time in that roster was highly disrupted by Wildcard’s shambolic management, which saw him benched only to return to action later.

Nevertheless, the Swede has shown himself as a relatively consistent force in CS2, where AWPer have genuinely struggled.

While he is tasked with filling the boots of dev1ce, it was a highly diminished dev1ce who will look to reinvent himself at 100 Thieves.

ryu joins Astralis after an impressive year in Monte in Tier 2, where he averaged a 1.14 HLTV rating, also winning European Esports Championship 2025 with Lithuania.

Fans of UK Counter-Strike will know ryu from his close association with Jack ‘Gizmy’ von Spreckelsen.

The two, until now, shared career trajectories at Monte, with the young pair being promoted to Monte’s main roster, demoted to the academy, and then promoted again together.

Following a first stint, where ryu scarcely had time to adjust to Tier 2’s higher level, the Lithuanian was demoted for a further seven months.

However, his second stint in the main roster has proven to be much more fruitful, as the rifler became a standout piece of a Monte roster that won DreamHack Knockout Stockholm 2025.

That victory qualified Monte to ESL Pro League Season 23, where they may face Astralis.

Signings reflect the change in Astralis’ ownership

Despite phzy and ryu seeming to be sensible signings, Astralis fans may find themselves underwhelmed considering the history of the organisation.

The organisation have previously spent in line with the org’s historical success, reportedly spending seven figures in the acquisition of stavn and Jakob ‘jabbi’ Nygaard.

However, after years of financial peril, the org’s new ownership is taking an alternate path, seemingly appealing for some clemency from the fans.

CEO Jonas Gundersen provided the following statement as part of the announcement:

“Since the acquisition of Astralis in the autumn, we have focused on two main areas: streamlining and cleaning up the business, and building the team with a long-term perspective, while still delivering results in the short term.”

We reached the second stage of the Major and were one match away from qualifying for the third and final stage. Of course, we would have liked to go further, but after not having attended a Major for nearly four years, this represents clear progress, and we cannot be too disappointed.

Now we are entering the next phase with the team, and the signings of ‘phzy’ and ‘ryu’ should be seen in that context. These are our first international signings, and they are players we believe fit very well into what we are building.

In addition to being strong players, they bring new energy to the team, and they are players who can immediately adapt to the style of play we want to implement, together with the coach and our in-game leader.

The goal is for everything to move a bit faster and be a bit more fun to be part of—and to watch. The first step has been taken, but we will be working hard throughout 2026 to build further, across all areas.”

Reading between the lines, it appears that Astralis’ restructuring may not end at ryu and phzy alone. Whether that is a reflection of phzy and ryu, or of other members of the existing team, it’s hard to say.

What we do know is that VRS means a core must be maintained to keep a team’s ranking, meaning Astralis will at least play with the current roster in the medium term.

In signing ryu and phzy, they have signed composed and professional players, capable of playing in a larger system, which is likely where Astralis think they can secure an edge instead of in individual prowess.

Darragh Harbinson, Senior Editor

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.

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