Cover And Thumbnail Image Courtesy: Astralis Group
- Astralis officially announce the signing of 23-year-old JUGi.
- Astralis is now operating an eight-man roster including their coach, with possible plans of signing more players in the future.
- JUGi was a free transfer to Astralis following his departure from North last month.
All the rumours and speculations stand true as Astralis officially announce the signing of Jakob "JUGi" Hansen to their roster, making Astralis the first CS:GO team to operate with an eight-man roster including their coach. According to the Danish organization, in order to create “the most competitive and healthy environment for the players,” they have added another player to their increasing roster, following the signing of Patrick “es3tag” Hansen in March.
The player who was a free transfer following his departure from North last month fits into the long-term ideology being implemented by Astralis, as they announce him as the “seventh member of the roster,” who has worked with the same performance team previously as part of the Heroic lineup.
The player himself stated that he felt like coming back home and though he was initially nervous, the moment he stepped back into the office, “everything felt just right.”
“I’ve had some great times here and being able to wear the jersey with the red star on the chest is just… It’s a pressure, it’s humbling and it’s motivating as nothing else!”
The player admits to have not been as consistent in recent times as he would have liked to be and it might take some time to adjust to how Astralis plays, but he “can’t wait to get on the server and show everybody how I feel about joining the team.”
Astralis’ coach Danny “zonic” Sørensen also acknowledges the 23-year-old’s talent and potential, revealing that JUGi has already participated in a few practice sessions with the team.
“I hope and believe that “JUGi” will adapt and integrate into the team and our way of working, and I really look forward to working with him.”
Talking about the increasing roster size Kasper Hvidt - Director of Sports in Astralis Group comments that,
“Increasing the roster is a strategic decision based on securing the optimal conditions and a healthy, competitive environment for the players, coach, and performance team now and long term.”
He believes that this is what Astralis needs to grow even stronger in the years to come, stating that “For every role on Astralis, we want two players who can fill it. Interchanging players in a fluid fashion will require flexibility in roles within the team.” Could this statement mean that Astralis might be signing more players in the coming months?
With this announcement, Astralis now has the following seven-player roster at their disposal, and while JUGi will be joining the squad immediately, es3tag will come onboard at the end of June.
- Nicolai "device" Reedtz
- Peter "dupreeh" Rasmussen
- Andreas "Xyp9x" Højsleth
- Lukas "gla1ve" Rossander
- Emil "Magisk" Reif
- Jakob "JUGi" Hansen
- Patrick "es3tag" Hansen [Joining on 1st July]
- Danny "zonic" Sørensen [Coach]
