Astralis have moved Rasmus “HooXi” Nielsen and Jakob “jabbi” Nygaard to the bench with speedy impact, days after the workforce secured its first LAN trophy since 2019.
The change is confirmed, however the subsequent roster is just not: reviews establish former Liquid captain Kamil “siuhy” Szkaradek and Ukrainian rifler Nikita “cmtry” Samolotov as doable additions, with neither transfer formally confirmed. Sport.ua reported the benching and mentioned each gamers’ contracts are nearing completion.
A trophy earlier than the roster change
The timing follows Astralis’ victory at Stake Ranked Episode 4 in Barcelona, the organisation’s first LAN title since December 2019. HooXi led the workforce to that win, in addition to grand-final appearances at PGL Astana 2025, FISSURE Playground 1 and PGL Bucharest 2026.
HooXi joined Astralis completely in June 2025 after serving as a stand-in, changing Casper “cadiaN” Møller. jabbi arrived from HEROIC in November 2023 alongside Martin “stavn” Lund. Astralis had reportedly been in search of replacements for the pair two days earlier than the benching, in keeping with Sport.ua.
The reported curiosity in siuhy additionally comes amid motion within the CS2 in-game-leader market. His availability after his Liquid stint has featured in recent CS2 roster changes, whereas established leaders have continued to maneuver between groups throughout lively roster cycles.
What comes subsequent for Astralis?
The listed lively lineup contains Love “phzy” Smidebrant, Victor “Staehr” Staehr and Gytis “ryu” Glušauskas, with Filip “NEO” Kubski as coach. HooXi and jabbi are listed as benched; Staehr is the one Danish participant among the many three lively gamers, alongside Sweden’s phzy and Lithuania’s ryu.
Astralis’ subsequent listed occasion is Stake Pulse Beat III, scheduled to start on October 12, 2026. Sport.ua reported that cmtry may swap from the AWP to a rifling function if he joins, however the organisation has but to verify both potential signing.
