Astralis has revealed that they have come to a mutual decision to end Alexander ‘br0’ Bro’s contract, allowing the 22-year-old to seek a new team. Nicolai ‘device’ Reedtz is also set to officially rejoin the roster after being absent from the Perfect World Shanghai Major Europe RMR due to “a relapse of stress-related health issues.”
‘br0’ became a member of Astralis following their unsuccessful attempt to qualify for PGL Major Copenhagen earlier this year, replacing Benjamin ‘blameF’ Bremer on the roster. The rifler’s inclusion prompted a reorganization that allowed Martin ‘stavn’ Lund and Jakob ‘jabbi’ Nygaard to take on their preferred positions, while ‘device’ assumed the role of in-game leader.
Following a period of early achievements with the new lineup, including reaching the semi-finals at IEM Chengdu and ESL Pro League Season 19, the results started to decline after the player break, as Astralis was unable to qualify for the playoffs in both IEM Cologne and ESL Pro League Season 20.
The Danish organization decided to make a change prior to the upcoming Shanghai Major cycle, bringing Casper ‘cadiaN’ Møller into the team to relieve an injured ‘device’ of the in-game leader role, while ‘br0’ was moved to the bench to create space.
The decision was quickly surrounded by debate, not because of the action taken, but because of Astralis’ dubious application of BLAST’s emergency substitution regulations to include ‘cadiaN’ in their lineup for the BLAST Fall Final.
‘br0’ was summoned by Astralis just two months following his benching, as ‘device’ stepped away from the team for medical reasons only days before their RMR campaign in preparation for the Perfect World Shanghai Major. The team struggled to cope with their AWPer’s unexpected exit from the lineup and were unsuccessful in qualifying.
Astralis Announcement
Astralis roster is as follows:
- Nicolai ‘device’ Reedtz
- Casper ‘cadiaN’ Møller
- Martin ‘stavn’ Lund
- Jakob ‘jabbi’ Nygaard
- Victor ‘Staehr’ Staehr
- Casper ‘ruggah’ Due
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