Astralis’ gla1ve is out for ESL One Cologne

Astralis fans probably won’t see Lukas “gla1ve” Rossander or Andreas “xyp9x” Højsleth in ESL One Cologne’s Regional standoff.

Astralis’ gla1ve won’t compete for the team at the upcoming ESL One Cologne tournament, according to a tweet from the player’s official Twitter account. ESL currently has the player listed as a substitute for Denmark’s premier Counter-Strike: Global Offensive team along with fellow player xyp9x, according to a report from Danish sports website sport.tv2.dk

Both players have been inactive since placing themselves on Astralis’ bench at the end of May while citing a jam-packed CSGO schedule and burnout as the reason for their breaks. With two of Astralis’ top players still warming the bench, Astralis’ ESL One Cologne hopes rest on the two players the team has pegged to stand-in. Newly signed stand-ins Lucas “Bubzkji” Andersen and Patrick “es3tag” Hansen will compete for the European powerhouse despite the team’s recent struggles in previous tournaments prior to the game’s July roster break.

Astralis has had several weeks of practice with es3tag, but Bubzkji’s signing was a surprise move from an organization that has been stockpiling talent since it announced its first new signing earlier in the year. gla1ve’s announcement came just days after Astralis announced Bubzkji after an apparent deal for the young player with MAD Lions fell through.

ESL One Cologne is set to start on August 18 and will feature regional competition in the European, North American, Asian, and Oceanic regions with a total prize pool of $500,000 up for grabs and split across the four regions. Fans can check out WIN.gg’s coverage of ESL One Cologne’s announcement of each region’s groups and opening matches right here.