Astralis Reportedly Seal The Deal For Device

According to recent reports, Astralis are nearing the signing of Nicolai “device” Reedtz, who could be re-joining his old team as early as this month. The reports further confirm the ongoing rumors of device’s return to the Danish Counter-Strike: Global Offensive team.

Device’s reported return to Astralis is the latest in the series of roster changes Astralis have and plan to make. The Danish esports organization has already parted ways with Kristina “K0nfig” Wienecke earlier this month and waved goodbye to coach Martin “trace” Heldt.

It is currently unclear who the 27-year-old will replace or whether Astralis plan to make further roster changes in the coming weeks. However, it seems likely that Astralis are set to part ways with Asger “Farlig” Jensen, who is said to join Sprout in a swap deal for Victor “Staehr” Staehr.

If the deals come through, Astralis will look much different from how the team has looked this season, albeit featuring 3/5 of the core, which won the Danish esports organization three Major titles in 2018-19.

The supposed new Astralis roster will consist of: Nicolai “device” Reedtz, Lukas “gla1ve” Rossander, Andreas “Xyp9x” Højsleth, Benjamin “blameF” Bremer, Asger “Farlig” Jensen, and Mikkel “MistR” Thomsen.

However, while the rumors have hinted towards the new Astralis roster, the Danish esports team has yet to confirm any roster moves.

Despite no official announcement or any solid reports, it’s highly likely that Astralis will look to make changes to its lineup, in hopes of a fresh start. And that’s exactly what the Danish squads needs following a woeful 2022 campaign.

Astralis kicked off the 2022 year with a fifth-sixth place finish at Funspark ULTI 2021, adding three consecutive disappointing placements at BLAST Premier: Spring Groups 2022 (seventh-ninth), Intel Extreme Masters XVI – Katowice (seventh-eighth), and ESL Pro League Season 15 (fifth-eighth).

The team would then qualify for the PGL Major Antwerp with a sixth-place finish in the European RMR B, but they fell apart at the Major. Despite high expectations, Astralis crashed out of PGHL Major Antwerp 2022 in 17th-19th place, marking the organization’s worst Major performance since Astralis entered CS:GO in 2016.

After finishing Intel Extreme Masters XVII – Dallas in ninth-12th, Astralis bounced back a bit, with a runner-up finish at Pinnacle Cup Championship and two semi-finals appearances at Roobet Cup and Intel Extreme Masters XVII – Cologne. Unfortunately, those were Astralis’ only notable accomplishments until October.

Besides finishing BLAST Premier: Fall Groups 2022 in seventh-ninth and ESL Pro League Season 16 in 13th-16th, Astralis also missed out on qualifying for IEM Rio Major, with a 12th-14th place finish at the European RMR. With that, Astralis didn’t qualify for the CS:GO Major for the first time in the organization’s history – marking a new low for the struggling squad.

Most recently, Astralis finished runners-up at BLAST Premier: Fall European Showdown 2022, showing that they can still be competitive. However, as it became evident over the last months, Astralis needed to make changes.

Device was a part of Astralis’ original roster, which was formed in 2016, when Astralis bought former TSM members. With the Danish team, device would go on to win three four Major titles, including three consecutive, forever cementing Astralis as one of the best CS:GO teams in history.

Moreover, device also holds the second-most MVP medals (19), behind only Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev (21), and is widely known as one of the best players to ever touch the game.

Device left Astralis in April 2021 to join Ninjas in Pyjamas, but he hasn’t played an official match for the Swedish team since 2021 after he was sidelined due to health issues. Now, he is reportedly ready to return, and according to reports just might play his first official match in a year with his former team.

If the deal comes through, device will play his first match under Astralis at Elisa Masters Espoo, slated for November 16-20.