Astralis benches CS:GO coach, promises more ‘changes’ and ‘upgrades’ soon

Astralis’ CS:GO division has made yet another change to the team after failing to qualify for the IEM Rio Major.

The organization has benched Martin “trace” Heldt, the main coach of the team, with Peter Toftbo “casle” Ardenskjold becoming the interim coach. Astralis also confirmed more “organizational changes and upgrades” will be coming soon.

One of the main reasons behind such a significant change in the roster is almost certainly down to the team failing to make it to the IEM Rio Major. The squad finished with a 1-3 record in Europe RMR A after losing to forZe, Bad News Eagles, and Ninjas in Pyjamas. This is the first time in history that the organization has missed out on a CS:GO Major.

“We have not lived up to our own expectations at all in terms of results in the Counter-Strike division,” Anders Hørsholt, the CEO of Astralis said. “We will work on modernizing and developing the organization around the Counter-Strike team.”

Trace had been with Astralis since March 4, when he was promoted from his coaching role in Astralis Talent, the organization’s academy. Since then, his best achievement was leading Astralis to a semifinal finish at IEM Cologne 2022, where the team lost to Natus Vincere.

Earlier this week, Astralis also released Kristian “k0nfig” Wienecke after the player admitted to his involvement in a fistfight in Malta.

There’s a good chance Nicolai “dev1ce” Reedtz will return to the roster. Recent reports have indicated that Ninjas in Pyjamas and Astralis have already agreed to the price for the player.