dev1ce asks Astralis fans to “adjust expectations” after roster shuffle

After a bevy of roster changes, Astralis’ star AWPer Nicolai ‘dev1ce’ Reedtz has asked fans to “adjust their expectations” over the next few months, as the Danish squad transitions to a seven-man roster.

With Xyp9x and gla1ve out of the lineup temporarily, the four-time major winners have had some soul searching to do. While they’ve picked up JUGi and es3tag, along with Snappi as a temporary sub, it’s just not been the same Astralis.

They have struggled at the Blast Premier Spring Showdown, dropping games to Ninjas in Pyjamas and Vitality, and are sitting near the bottom of their group.

Astralis

JUGi is one of three players who have recently joined Astralis.

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With the major still five months away, there’s time for change. Xyp9x and gla1ve will eventually return. JUGi and es3tag will find their way into the roster in this system. However, until then, Astralis are asking fans to be patient.

After losing to Vitality in the Blast Showdown, dev1ce asked fans on Twitter to take every day with this new roster ⁠— and this new system ⁠— one round at a time.

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“Reading the comments on social media is not something I often do, but I notice a high amount of NaCl [salt] regarding our performance,” he said. “Just a heads up, adjust your expectations ⁠— we have done that.”

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While JUGi, Snappi, and es3tag aren’t bad individual players, the roster moves from Astralis had a drastic impact on a core that has remained untouched since the start of 2018.

Roster changes in CS:GO are inevitable, but Astralis also went a step further by experimenting with a completely different system. Six-man rosters have existed before, but seven man rosters, which allow for more rotation, and potentially recruiting “map specialists,” is unheard of.

Astralis don’t want to stop at seven stars either. Sports director Kasper Hvidt mentioned the Danish squad is now looking to expand to a 10-man roster.

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“Ultimately we would like to see across game titles a full 10 player set-up with an academy team like in the pro League of Legends leagues,” he said in a June 2 blog post.

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“It would be a great way of letting talents work in a fully professional environment with access to all facilities, and it would be a smoother transition when substituting players on the ‘A team.’”

Once Xyp9x and gla1ve return, they’ll be most of the way there. What Danish talent they’ll pick up next remains to be seen, but by the time Rio rolls around, we might see an Astralis like no other.