CS:GO Coach Zonic Reveals Turning Down a "Really Nice" Offer From Astralis
Zonic took a decision of his own.
Cover-Credits:
One of the best coaches in the history of CS:GO, Danny "zonic" Sørensen, who helped Astralis win four Major titles from January 2016 to November 2021, was recently benched by the Danish organization. At the time, the general consensus was that Astralis did not want to work with him going ahead and hence removed him as part of their massive roster shuffle.
However, zonic has come forward to reveal that he had received a new offer from Astralis but had turned it down as he wanted to try something new. He went on to say that he respects the new team assembled by the organization as it was the right thing to do, in an interview with Danish TV2.
Zonic talks about turning down new coaching offer from Astralis
The 35-year-old Dane, zonic, is a two-time 'Best Esports Coach of the Year' winner through the Game Awards in 2019 and 2020. Zonic is currently on Astralis' bench as an inactive member of their CS:GO squad. But, no one is to blame for this as it was his own decision to walk away from the organization after having worked with them for almost six years.
In the interview with Danish TV2, Zonic revealed that Astralis had given him "a really nice offer," but as he wanted to do something else, the contract extension was turned down by him and he took the bench alongside Peter "dupreeh" Rasmussen and Emil "Magisk" Reif.
He further revealed that during his time in Astralis he had plenty of disagreements with Kasper Hvidt - Director of Sports at Astralis Group. One of these disagreements was the expansion of Astralis' CS:GO roster to a seven man lineup. Zonic stated the reason as:
Counter-strike has always been five man for me and though I understand well the premise of expanding, I just lean more towards having a talent team.Danny "zonic" Sørensen - Statement to TV2.dk
Though he ultimately agreed that Hvidt was right about the expansion of the roster, as both Lukas "gla1ve" Rossander and Andreas "Xyp9x" Højsleth required a break.
All said and done, zonic is happy with Astralis' decision and accepts it without holding any grudges, he says that he has no problems with the new roster as well.
However, zonic is sad about the fact that he did not get a chance to give the crowd and all the Astralis fans a proper farewell and say goodbye.
When 12,000 spectators cheer the team forward, it always feels special. It is very sad that we (Magisk, dupreeh, zonic) are not part of BLAST, and it is super unfortunate not to be allowed to say goodbye to all the fans present in the Royal Arena. I wish I could at any cost, but I do not bear grudges, and understand this decision well.Danny "zonic" Sørensen - Statement to TV2.dk
Astralis is scheduled to debut with their new lineup at the upcoming BLAST Premier: Fall Finals 2021 against Ninjas in Pyjamas, as they face them in front of a live audience at the Royal Arena in Copenhagen, Denmark.
