RUBINO to stand in on Astralis until Dev1ce returns in 2018

Danish powerhouse Astralis will be fielding new talent for the remainder of 2017, and this time around, it involves a player who’s been out of the CS:GO spotlight for some time.

Team Dignitas is loaning Ruben “RUBINO” Villarroel to Astralis for the last two big international events of 2017: the ESL Pro League Season Six Finals and the ECS Season Four Finals. He will fill the vacated position that Nicolai “Dev1ce” Reedtz left, since the star AWPer is on extended medical leave. Dev1ce is expected to make his return to the team at the Boston Major in January, but only if his condition improves.

Related: Dev1ce out for the remainder of the year, will return for the Boston Major

Initially, it was reported that Astralis were ready to skip the EPL Finals because of a pending appeal to WESA–ESL’s team-governing bodym regarding the use of GODSENT’s Dennis Edman as a substitute. Since Astralis lacked an immediate substitute, the team’s options were limited to coach Danny “zonic” Sørensen. But now it’s become evident that Astralis were allowed to use players outside ESL’s league for the finals.

RUBINO didn’t participate in either the ESL Pro League or the ESEA Premier Division in the latter half of 2017, mostly because of his team’s struggles to fill their roster. His time on Dignitas has been characterized by disappointment, as the team has failed to qualify for almost every top-tier event in 2017. The last big tournament that RUBINO competed in was the ELEAGUE Major: Atlanta in January under North, where they finished top eight. Luckily for RUBINO, Dignitas hinted that they’ll resume competition with a full team in 2018.

“I have to say that playing with our fourth line-up in the last four tournaments does not exactly increase our possibilities to prepare optimally and to find our rhythm on the team,” zonic said in the organization’s Facebook announcement. “We have had a great year, and we intend to finish the way we started!”

RUBINO can be seen in Astralis colors next week from Dec. 5 to 10 at the ESL Pro League Season Six Finals and the following week from Dec. 15 to 17 at the ECS Season Four Finals.