Astralis aren’t showing any signs of slowing down yet after dedicated AWPer Nicolai “dev1ce” Reedtz left the team to join Ninjas in Pyjamas just a week ago. In their first two outings since that move, Astralis’ CS:GO team has beaten a steadily improving Extra Salt roster and a white-hot Complexity team.
Their in-and-out sixth man Lucas “Bubzkji” Andersen has looked tremendous in his return to the starting lineup at DreamHack Masters Spring. The 22-year-old dropped 20 kills on Nuke against Extra Salt, 28 on Vertigo against Complexity, and 30 against Complexity in overtime on Inferno.
His impressive play included some well-spent time on the AWP before handing the sniper over to Peter “dupreeh” Rasmussen for Inferno, where the four-time Major winner notched 32 total kills, 23 of which came via the AWP. In a post-game interview with HLTV, dupreeh said he’s more comfortable taking on the AWP with dev1ce gone since he no longer is pressured by the notion of taking it away from a superior AWPer.
While the road will surely get tougher for Astralis as they navigate the early stretch of this new era, the start they’ve had already is something to build on, especially if Bubzkji continues to play like this. Given how little he’s played in 2021 so far, it could be of great benefit to keep letting him work his way back into top form.
Astralis’ next test will be a daunting one, facing either BIG or Heroic on May 2. But they’ve already secured a playoff spot for DreamHack.
Dev1ce, however, has not made his debut with Ninjas in Pyjamas yet. That will come at Flashpoint Three, which starts on May 10.
