Astralis and CS:GO star Kristian “k0nfig” Wienecke have agreed to cancel his contract today due to personal reasons. Soon after, the player admitted to his involvement in fistfight in Malta that he’s previously denied.
The news comes after k0nfig fractured his ankle while staying in Malta during ESL Pro League Season 16, which made him miss the Europe Regional Major Ranking (RMR) tournament. Astralis attended the event with academy player Mikkel “MistR” Thomsen in his place and failed to qualify for IEM Rio Major, having finished the tournament with just one victory and three losses.
K0nfig’s removal was first reported on Sept. 27 by Jaxon, stating that the player “was involved in a quarrel that turned into a fist fight after ESL Pro League in Malta”. An eyewitness later told Jaxon that k0nfig broke his leg in a fight with the promoter of the nightclub he was in with his friends.
K0nfig had been a part of Astralis since November 2021 when he joined the team alongside Benjamin “blameF” Bremer. During his nearly one-year stint, he most notably helped Astralis to qualify for PGL Antwerp Major in May and to reach the semifinals of IEM Cologne in July.
After Jaxon reported the alleged fistfight in Malta that resulted in k0nfig’s injury, the CS:GO star called the report “rumors that are mostly BS” and had not touched on the subject until today. Now, k0nfig shared his side of the story in a Twitlonger, saying that he and his friends went to this nightclub the same day Astralis failed to qualify for ESL Pro League season 16 playoffs.
“The entrance of the nightclub was at the top of this staircase leading into the club,” k0nfig said. “I walked up the staircase and asked the guy who appeared to be in charge, if I could join my friends and explained that they had already gone in. Instead of just saying no, he dissed my tattoos and said that it was ‘his fucking club’ and that I was a ‘tattoo’ed looser’ and that there was no way he would let me in, except if I paid €5000 for a table.”
“He was aggressive and I felt humiliated so we got into an argument. I told him he was the loser for standing in a nightclub queue and feeling better than everyone else and then suddenly he spat me directly in my face and kicked me straight in my face. He was standing several steps over me on the staircase, so it was like a kicking to a football [sic]. It made me fall down the stairs and sprain my foot. It hurt like hell, but adrenaline, fear and confusion had completely taken over my body, so I didn’t notice it at first. I just remember feeling confused. Then after he ran inside the club with the bouncers in front of him. My mouth was swollen, my leg and foot hurt as hell.”
After the altercation, k0nfig sat outside the nightclub and suddenly saw the same promoter leave. He ran after him and said he’d report the fight to the police.
“He immediately spat at me once again and cursed at me which infuriated me. We got into fight [sic], and he broke my leg and I fell to the ground. He was kicking me multiple times in my head while I was laying down. I tried getting away from the situation but I couldn’t because of the broken leg. I tried to run away but I couldn’t put weight on my right leg. It just snapped and broke completely, dislocating my foot as well. He stopped kicking me because I dragged him down to me and I had to do self-defense to make him stop kicking me.”
K0nfig traveled back to Denmark to do the surgery, and that was when he was told that he won’t be able to play in the RMR. The rifler said there’s an ongoing investigation in Malta and that he was registered as a victim. He said he tested negative for drugs while in a hospital in Malta, whereas the promoter tested positive according to the police.
The statement on Astralis’ website features a quote from the org’s director of sports, Kasper Hvidt, saying that “Kristian’s “k0nfig” Wienecke [sic] is going through a tough time with issues he does not want to discuss publicly; we fully respect that. It has been affecting his ability to contribute to the team and we have had ongoing and constructive talks with Kristian, who needs time to focus on his private life.”
It’s currently unclear what the future holds for k0nfig in 2022 as he’s still recovering from the leg injury and many teams won’t make changes until 2023 because of the IEM Rio Major roster lock. The Astralis roster is now down to four players with k0nfig’s removal, and the organization is reportedly in talks to sign star Nicolai “dev1ce” Reedtz back from Ninjas in Pyjamas.
