"We will have 6 players on the team, not 5 and a substitute." - Zonic on es3tag Joining Astralis
Cover Image Courtesy: DreamHack - Adela Sznajder | Thumbnail Image Courtesy: Danny 'zonic' Sørensen
Becoming one of the first teams in Counter-Strike to play with a six-man roster, Astralis definitely has a few plans up their sleeve which they would like to execute in the near future. But ever since the announcement was made by the team, many have speculated that Patrick “es3tag” Hansen would just be used as a ‘stand-in’ who would play when one of the main players is unavailable.
The head coach of Astralis Danny “zonic” Sorensen cleared this misconception by saying that "es3tag will be a part of the team on equal terms with everybody else. We will have six players on the team, not five and a substitute,” in an interview with HLTV.
Sonic further stated that “Our decision is strategic and not tactical,” explaining that it would be stupid not to consider the idea of swapping players during a tournament or a match in the long run.
This was followed by Kasper Hvidt - Astralis’ Sports Director reiterating the fact that Astralis’ main motivation behind the addition of a sixth player was to give “the team the ability to properly handle recovery and deal with situations like sudden illnesses or injuries more effectively.”
He further said that “The main principle in regards to competitiveness is that we can use as many players as possible that are close to 100 percent mental and physical fitness.”
Astralis revolutionized the way utility was used in Counter-Strike, changing the way the game was played tactically. Now the Danish roster is once again leading a change that might soon be adopted by other top teams as well, but this will depend on how Astralis is able to perform with their new six-player roster in the upcoming tournaments.
