Astralis
The Danish dynasty that redefined Counter-Strike.
Astralis is a Danish esports organization. Best known for their Counter-Strike teams, the organization also competes in FIFA and previously competed in Rainbow Six Siege. The parent group of Astralis is the Astralis Group, who previously managed Origen and Future F.C. before the merger of all teams under the Astralis brand. Astralis Group became the first esports organization to conduct an initial public offering, and was formerly traded on the Copenhagen Stock Exchange. Astralis' Counter-Strike: Global Offensive team holds the record of the most Counter-Strike Major Championships won, with four.
Quick Facts
- Origin
- Denmark
- Primary discipline
- Counter-Strike (CS:GO; CS2)
- Status
- Active
- Colour identity
- Red and black
- Most celebrated era
- 2018 'Golden Lineup'
Lore & Background
Astralis' Counter-Strike: Global Offensive division began 2018 with a loss to Mousesports at the ELEAGUE Major, then beat North, but were upset by Fnatic and eliminated after a loss to Cloud9. In February 2018, Kjaerbye left for North and Astralis signed Emil 'Magisk' Reif. After a quarter-final at StarSeries S4 and semi-final at IEM Katowice 2018, they won DreamHack Marseille 2018, beating FaZe Clan, Fnatic, and Natus Vincere. They lost to FaZe at IEM Sydney 2018, then won ESL Pro League Season 7 Finals, ECS Season 5 Finals, and ELEAGUE CS:GO Premier 2018. They won their second Major at FACEIT Major: London 2018, beating FaZe, Team Liquid, and Natus Vincere without dropping a map in playoffs. Six days later they won BLAST Pro Series Istanbul 2018. At IEM Katowice Major 2019, they won their third Major, becoming the second team (after Fnatic) to win three Majors and the third to win two back-to-back. Their dominance dropped after that, with Team Liquid becoming number one. At StarLadder Major: Berlin 2019, they won their fourth Major, becoming the first team to win three consecutive Majors and passing Fnatic's record of three. In November 2019, coach zonic won 'Coach of the Year' at the Esports Awards. In 2020, Astralis expanded the roster beyond five players, signing Patrick 'es3tag' Hansen, Jakob 'JUGi' Hansen, and later Lucas 'Bubzkji' Andersen. gla1ve took a break in May 2020 due to stress, and Xyp9x also took a break. In September 2020, Astralis Group merged all teams under the Astralis brand. In October 2020, Astralis won ESL Pro League S12. In April 2021, Nicolai 'dev1ce' Reedtz left for Ninjas in Pyjamas; during his tenure he set the record for most MVP medals in Counter-Strike history with 18. In July 2021, gla1ve signed a new contract through 2024, and Astralis signed Philip 'Lucky' Ewald. Astralis failed to reach playoffs at PGL Stockholm Major. In November 2021, they added Benjamin 'blameF' Bremer, Kristian 'k0nfig' Wienecke, and coach Alexander 'ave' Holdt; Magisk, Dupreeh, and zonic became inactive. In January 2022, Magisk, dupreeh, and zonic left for Team Vitality. On January 31, 2022, Bubzkji was released. On February 22, 2022, Asger 'Farlig' Jensen was signed as primary AWPer, Lucky benched. On May 4, 2022, Lucky announced he would search for new opportunities.
Reader's Guide
Astralis is best known for their Counter-Strike: Global Offensive team, which holds the record for most Major championships (four). Their era of dominance (2018–2019) was marked by meta-defining coordination and utility usage. Key players included dev1ce, gla1ve, Magisk, dupreeh, Xyp9x, and later additions like blameF and k0nfig. The organization expanded to a six- and seven-man roster in 2020, but later adjusted due to Valve rule changes. dev1ce holds the record for most MVP medals in Counter-Strike history with 18.
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