Fixing Astralis: How the Danes can be competitive again in 2026

Three and a half years after Astralis last attended a Counter-Strike Major at PGL Antwerp 2022, the Danes have found themselves eliminated from the StarLadder Budapest Major 2025 at the hands of old foe Team Liquid.

The defeat rounds out a year of mediocrity for Astralis, a name once synonymous with excellence in Counter-Strike. Do not let a couple of runner-up berths in the middle of the year fool you – this has been another period of struggle for the Danish organization. And despite tough results on the server, it feels as though Astralis continue to buckle under the weight of their past glories, a team wrestling with its name and legacy in every round. Expectations from fans, as high as ever, but without anything to show for it.

Astralis will head into 2026 with a clean slate, the chance to write new chapters in its story. But to do so, it may have to first tackle some difficult questions about the current state of play. Fixing Astralis isn’t easy, but I’m going to give it a go.

The current state of Astralis

There’s a ton for Astralis to consider next year with every player, but I want to start on the bright side – Staehr. When Staehr joined Astralis in mid-2023, he was hailed as the next big thing in Danish CS. Lack of trophies aside, it’s clear he has developed into a top player. Capable of adapting to different roles on the rifle while still extracting good numbers from every position. In a scene of role specialists, treasure the players who still possess the underrated skill of versatility. With more consistency around him, it’s easy to picture Staehr lifting trophies in the future.

He’s lights out. He’s the X-factor. So you keep him on board, continue to nurture his development as a player. You lose Staehr to an international project, and your already-slim odds of bringing Danish Counter-Strike back to the top essentially fall to nil. He has his off-games, but who doesn’t? He’s a lot more consistent than those around him, and can compete with the very best CS2 players mechanically. In 2026, Staehr goes nowhere but Astralis.

Then there’s dev1ce. An Astralis legend with credit in the bank to burn. Of late, the four-time Major winner has undergone an alarming drop-off in form, especially when holding the Big Green. It doesn’t feel like a system problem, either – he’s just missing shots he would have hit even last year. It’s a challenging situation for Astralis to be in, because the reality is that in any team, an out-of-form AWPer is going to lose you games single-handedly. Maybe you can’t pinpoint the exact moments, but cumulatively, across a 24-round match, it’s fair for a team to rely on their AWPer’s impact to swing the game in their favor. Right now, dev1ce‘s lack of output is costing Astralis games.

A legend he may be, but you have to imagine Astralis’ patience isn’t infinite. The problem? Good luck finding a Danish AWPer, because they’re all pretty terrible. Without taking a gamble on an untested rookie, the next name after dev1ce is probably nicoodoz, a player so obsessed with cosplaying as an AWPer that he’d be right at home at Comic Con. Point is, nicoodoz is a rifler, he just doesn’t know it yet, and regardless, he is so far off the Astralis standard that it’s barely worthy of discussion. So Astralis have to put their faith that their legendary AWPer can find his best self again for another year and kick that can further down the road. It’s likely that dev1ce will need to reinvent himself at some point to prolong his career. Perhaps he’ll try IGLing again, maybe go the FalleN route with a rifle? That’s a conversation for another time.

Next is HooXi. When Astralis called on the former G2 in-game leader to replace cadiaN in May, it felt like the perfect fit. An immediate runners-up placing at PGL Astana had Astralis dreaming again. But it hasn’t quite gone to plan since, and despite his own individual form being much better than during his G2 stint, it feels as though he’s struggled to give Astralis a real identity. Equally, there are enough positive signs that with the right pieces, HooXi and Astralis could still be a great pairing.

Even if Astralis did want to try something new in the IGL department, HooXi’s place is kind of cemented by the Danish IGL scene right now. As with AWPers, it’s rough out there for Danish skippers. Snappi and karrigan are too close to the end of their careers to invest time into, but beyond that, you’re really getting into territory you don’t want to be in. TMB, raalz. That level of player. The best option if Astralis wanted to take a gamble on youth is Chr1zN, but his recent move to HEROIC makes this an impossible one for the near future. If it works out for Chr1zN, keep an eye on that one. But for now, HooXi stays, assuming he still wants to be there.

So we have three players in our hypothetical Astralis 2026 lineup, keeping the VRS core intact. This gives them carte blanche to do what they want with the other two pieces of the team. Let’s start with jabbi. He’s a very tough player to judge. He goes missing a little too often for my liking, but his strongest numbers actually come against Astralis’ best opponents. In the last six months, his ratings in matches vs. The MongolZ (1.19), Vitality (1.17), NAVI (1.14), and Aurora (1.12) are among his best, while teams like M80, ENCE, FaZe, and HEROIC have given him a lot of trouble.

This is the enigma of jabbi. If Astralis are willing to let others put up the big numbers against lesser opposition, then he remains a very useful piece. It’s a “stick or twist” kind of situation. Could you find better output elsewhere? In Denmark, it’s tough, but I’ve got one player in mind that would massively raise the floor for Astralis.

Finally, we come to Magisk, whose short-term contract on Astralis is up at the end of this year. Despite his legendary status in the organization, I can’t see it being renewed following this period of results and his own rough performances. The Magisk we used to know as the rock of Astralis is gone, or so it seems.

In terms of “upgradeable” pieces, Magisk just makes the most sense right now. Even if two changes prove to be a step too far, this one feels guaranteed.

Potential solutions for Astralis in 2026

If we work on the assumption that jabbi and Magisk are replaceable, Astralis have options. For jabbi, there’s only one player I’d take the plunge for: sjuush. He’s been a key part of the Ninjas in Pyjamas revival project, and has continued to put up very solid numbers even as the team has returned to Tier 1 player. He’s still got it. Role-wise, they’re a near-perfect fit, with only Inferno and Overpass having any conflict. On the other maps, sjuush would fit right in without changes. T-side is a little more complicated – the pair match positions on just three maps, but I’d be confident that a player of sjuush’s ability would either be handed more favorable roles, or would be able to adapt where needed.

But what I like most about sjuush is his floor. His ceiling is high, yes, but his consistency is what Astralis are really missing right now. A dependable piece that just doesn’t really seem to feel the pressure all that much. He’s the only guy I’d take the chance on jabbi with. Plus, sjuush replacing jabbi on Astralis after that stabbi drama two years ago would be quite something, so I’m sure there’s some schadenfreude to be found there.

For Magisk, the options are a little more open. I’ll touch on some potential players, before delving into my personal choice. There’s obviously TeSeS, of course. If the Falcons joke of “just one more star” holds true, then he could be available over there. He’s good, obviously, but I worry that TeSeS‘ floor and ceiling are similar to Magisk’s, making for a total sidegrade when in a team without huge stars. If you want to go super risky, then someone like ECSTATIC‘s Anlelele would be a decent role match. The risk is that his great Tier 2 numbers simply wouldn’t translate to the higher level, akin to when Astralis signed Buzz from MASONIC in 2022. At this crucial juncture, is this the kind of risk they can take? I’m not sure.

But my ultimate choice is GamerLegion‘s Tauson. He’s had over a year in Tier 1 play now, but it’s during the last three months that it feels like Tauson has come into his own. Even with the team’s struggles around him, Tauson has become pretty dependable, forming a potent duo alongside PR. He’s done it playing in some very tough spots, his individual stats improving despite being just 20 years old. He’s clearly not a wonderkid prodigy, but someone who should forge a very respectable career in Tier 1 if he keeps this trajectory.

Taking Magisk’s roles wouldn’t be a natural fit for Tauson, but there is some overlap. Both are the B Anchors on CT Ancient, while both play Pit on CT Inferno. They’re the A Extremity players on T Ancient, and usually can be found on Silo on Nuke. Beyond that, though, bringing in Tauson would require some role swaps. If Astralis want to gamble on young talent anywhere in potential 2026 roster moves, I’d say that this would be one worth chancing. My only concern with this move is that he has so far suffered pretty significant drop-offs against the very best teams in the world, but you could say the same about the rest of GamerLegion, and give him the benefit of the doubt based on age. Tauson is high-risk, but very high-reward in my opinion. If he is your fourth-best player, you’re in a very healthy spot.

There’s also the coach situation, which I haven’t touched on at all so far. But it will be interesting to see if that’s an area Astralis look for change, especially if the right opportunity comes along. In nearly two years, ruggah has been serviceable in putting together a decent system, but you’d struggle to argue he’s really elevated the Danes.

This is where Astralis need to keep a keen eye on the remainder of the StarLadder Budapest Major 2025. Of the top teams, only two have Danish coaches: MOUZ (sycrone) and Falcons (zonic). And while sycrone looks secure in his position, who’s to say MOUZ aren’t looking for more than the one trophy that this talented lineup has won this year? In zonic’s case, you have to imagine that Falcons aren’t willing to sink infinite funds into his project, and if they don’t win this Major, there’s an argument that they could look elsewhere to invest their time and money.

That, of course, is pure speculation. Both coaches would be taking a downgrade by heading to Astralis. But if their respective organizations decide that results haven’t been sufficient in 2025, then it borders on negligence if Astralis don’t at least pose the question to both.

If I had my way as GM of Astralis, with all the pieces falling into place (Tauson not joining 100 Thieves with the GL core, Falcons ditching zonic), this is how the Danish team would look like heading into 2026:

• HooXi
• dev1ce
• Staehr
• Tauson
• sjuush
• zonic (Coach)

Could Astralis go international?

While I’ve only really talked about Astralis in the context on staying true to Danish Counter-Strike, the question lingers on whether they could go international. Could they abandon their identity in pursuit of a return to winning ways? Surely, they must look at FURIA, where YEKINDAR and molodoy have been adopted as defacto Brazilians, and wonder if things don’t have to be this difficult.

I won’t speculate on potential names for an international roster here, and besides, I don’t see it. Despite their muddy reputation worldwide, Astralis retain a stranglehold on Danish Counter-Strike. The players become celebrities there. It’s a loyalty built on the back of the Astralis era between 2017 and 2019, but one that prevails to this day. Unless things get really bad, I’d expect Astralis to stick to their guns and persevere with the Danish dream.