In a surprise move shortly before the start of their match against OG, Astralis have confirmed the substitution of Lucas ‘Bubzkji’ Andersen in place of Andreas ‘Xyp9x’ Højsleth, at BLAST Premier Spring Groups.
Coming off the back of a run of results below their very high standards, finishing 5-6th at ESL Pro League Season 13, Astralis found themselves in a bad spot of form, with the crucial BLAST Premier Spring Showdown to play.
Having joined Astralis in July 2020, but not yet playing for them, Bubzkji has been sitting on the sidelines, waiting for his opportunity.
That came on April 13, when just moments before the team were due to play OG in the round of 16 at BLAST, it was confirmed via the broadcast that Bubzkji would replace Xyp9x, at least for that game.
On the broadcast, Pimp said “Interesting, we’ve been having these conversations for a long time, wondering, with Bubzkji, what is the long term goal, how are they going to use him?
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“To see him in now is very interesting, I don’t know what to make of it. Xyp9x has been struggling lately, to be sure.”
On April 9, Astralis founder and chairman Nikolaij Nyholm tweeted “freebubzkji” – clearly a sign of things to come.
— Nikolaj Nyholm (@nikolaj) April 9, 2021
Astralis fans and rivals alike will be keen to see how the team performs with this change, as the org finally makes use of their six-man setup.
As for Xyp9x, it’s uncertain times over his future, but this may just be a temporary measure yet.
