K0nfig To Miss European RMR With An Injury

Astralis announced on Tuesday, September 20, that its star Counter-Strike: Global Offensive player, Kristian “k0nfig” Wienecke, won’t be able to compete at the upcoming European RMR. The Danish rifler has reportedly suffered an ankle injury and will be out of action for the next few weeks.

Astralis announced that its star player, k0nfig, has stepped down from the active Counter-Strike: Global Offensive roster after suffering a complicated ankle fracture. The injury will see him sidelined for at least a couple of weeks, although the Danish esports organization has not shared any precise dates.

The news comes just two weeks before Astralis’ opening match in the Intel Extreme Masters Road to Rio RMR A tournament, where the Danish CS:GO squad will be chasing a ticket for the upcoming Major Championship. So while it’s unclear how long the 25-year-old will be out of action, it has been confirmed that he will miss the entire Major qualifiers, leaving Astralis in a tough spot.

K0nfig is one of Astralis’ top players, and while considered by many to be inconsistent, he has played a major role in Astralis’ success this season. Notably, he has helped Astralis place second at BLAST Premier: Spring European Showdown 2022 and Pinnacle Cup Championship and reach semis at Roobet Cup and Intel Extreme Masters XVII – Cologne.

Since joining Astralis in November 2021, k0nfig has been averaging a 1.07 performance rating, which has slightly decreased over the last three months to 1.05. Regardless, the 25-year-old has shown solid performances this year and was a key player in some of Astralis’ best tournament runs.

K0nfig’s injury comes as a huge blow for Astralis and their chances to make a splash at the upcoming European RMR A, only adding salt to the wound of Astralis’ shaky performances this season. The Danish squad have achieved limited success in 2022 and, after nine months, have yet to win a single title.

The Danes kicked off the year with underwhelming performances at BLAST Premier: Spring Groups 2022 (seventh-ninth) and Intel Extreme Masters XVI – Katowice (seventh-eighth), adding another disappointing finish in ESL Pro League Season 15, where Astralis placed fifth-eighth.

Even though Astralis qualified for PGL Major Antwerp 2022, they haven’t achieved much in the first Major of the year, crashing out of the tournament in 17th-19th place after failing to fight their way through the Challengers Stage. Shortly after Astralis slipped again and placed ninth-12th at IEM Dallas, marking yet another early exit from a big event.

In the year’s second half, Astralis found some traction and reached the finals of the Pinnacle Cup Championship and the semi-finals at Roobet Cup and Intel Extreme Masters XVII – Cologne. Yet after a short hot streak, Astralis returned to their old ways, crashing out of the first three IEM RMR open qualifiers before reaching the European RMR tournament.

Besides announcing k0nfig’s injury, Astralis also unveiled a replacement in Mikkel “MistR” Thomsen, who will join Astralis’ main lineup at European RMR A. The 18-year-old joins the main roster from Astralis Talent, who he joined at the end of 2020, with limited experience competing in CS:GO.

As a young talent, MistR has never competed in a big event, having spent his entire professional career with Astralis Talent. His most notable achievement to date remains a top-three finish at WePlay Academy League Season 3 and two titles from Gamebox Invitational 2022 and MistGames Heroes of Tomorrow.

Astralis will debut its new-look roster on October 4, when they face off against Ninjas in Pyjamas n the first round of European RMR A.