Astralis Might be Looking for a Fifth Player as Xyp9x Reportedly Takes a Break from Counter-Strike

Cover And Thumbnail Image Courtesy: ESL CS:GO

• Astralis is exploring options as Xyp9x takes a break from Counter-Strike as per reports.
  
  
• The Danish organization might be looking to fast-track es3tag's contract.
  
  
• They are also scouting a few players like Lekr0 and ALEX.

Following the departure of Lukas "gla1ve" Rossander and Olof "olofmeister" Kajbjer Gustafsson, there are speculations that another player from Astralis might have taken a break from the pro scene. It looks like Astralis are actively looking for a replacement for Andreas "Xyp9x" Højsleth, who has decided to take a temporary break from Counter-Strike, according to reports by DBLTAP.

With gla1ve already on a break, Astralis are looking to fast-track Patrick “es3tag” Hansen’s transfer to the team who is otherwise set to join the Danish roster on 1^st July. Apart from this, the report also suggests that Astralis might be looking to get their hands on Jonas “Lekr0” Olofsson, who was recently moved to the inactive roster by Ninjas in Pyjamas.

As of now, both the player transfers have not been completed as Astralis’ coach Danny “zonic” Sørensen has joined the roster in Xyp9x’s absence. Another possible player transfer that was snubbed as per the report included Alex "ALEX" McMeekin's name, due to the upcoming match between Astralis and Vitality at BLAST Showdown.

[Also Read: "We will have 6 players on the team, not 5 and a substitute." - Zonic on es3tag Joining Astralis]

In the last few weeks, we have already observed gla1ve’s departure from the Danish roster citing long-term exhaustion and stress as the reason behind his three-month break. This was followed by Olofmeister also taking a break for an unspecified duration, which was a big blow for the entire community.

No official statement has been made by either the organization or the player in question, at the time of writing this article. Let’s see what lineup can the Danish giants come up with before they faceoff against NiP and sAw on 1^st June at the BLAST Premier: Spring 2020 European Showdown.

With Jakob “JUGi” Hansen already replacing gla1ve on the Astralis roster, following Xyp9x's departure, the lineup now looks as follows,

• Nicolai "device" Reedtz
• Peter "dupreeh" Rasmussen
• Emil "Magisk" Reif 
• Jakob "JUGi" Hansen
• Danny "zonic" Sørensen [Coach]
• Lukas "gla1ve" Rossander [Break]
• Andreas "Xyp9x" Højsleth [Break Reportedly]