Astralis, Origen splitting off from parent company RFRSH Entertainment
RFRSH Entertainment has sold its competitive branch to a newly formed Danish organization.
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive team Astralis and League of Legends LEC franchise Origen are splitting off from RFRSH starting next week. Their new parent company, known as Astralis Group ApS, is an investor group comprised of individuals from the Danish sports and business worlds.
Financial terms were not disclosed but Danish outlet
TV 2 Sport
reported the deal was worth between $11 and 16.6 million.
News that RFRSH was looking to sell the teams has been
known for weeks, with the company discussing the move earlier this month. The decision stems from their desire to put greater focus into their tournament organization efforts.
Astralis Group ApS will retain many executives from RFRSH. CEO Nikolaj Nyholm will take on the same role with Astralis Groups, with Director of Sports Kasper Hvidt, co-founder Jakob Lund Kristensen, and VP of Communications & Brand Steen Laursen all joining.
Astralis’ relationship with RFRSH and BLAST Pro Series
Astralis was long regarded as the best CSGO team in the world, with a yearlong stretch that included two major titles and a number of other live event victories. That run ended in June when Team Liquid rose to the top of most CSGO rankings.
According to a report by
Dexerto, RFRSH believed the team was affected by recent public criticism. Astralis came under fire in the spring for an alleged conflict of interest stemming from their participation in BLAST Pro Series events. BLAST tournaments are organized by RFRSH.
Though the BLAST Pro Series format did not afford room for preferential treatment of Astralis, some CSGO fans
took issue
with the team opting to participate in RFRSH’s tournaments rather than more prestigious events. Astralis coach Danny “zonic” Sørensen stated the team opted to play in BLAST events due to scheduling and travel concerns.
There are a few more BLAST Pro Series tournaments planned by RFRSH, including the Global Final event that will offer $500,000 prize pool.
Read Also
News
The Esports Nations Cup Has Been Postponed to November 2027
Ben Boland
The 2026 Esports Nations Cup has been suspended until 2027. The Esports Foundation announced the delay on August 18, citing ongoing regional uncertainty. The inaugural competition was scheduled to take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, comprising over 100 national teams and featuring 16 different games, including League of Legends. According to the Esports Foundation, this decision follows ongoing developments in the region and consultation with key stakeholders. Moving the event ...
Esports Betting
MLBB is the most-watched game from the EWC, and it’s hard to see another game beating it
Michael Hassall
The Esports World Cup 2026 has officially passed its midway point and viewership figures for the tournament have surpassed many expectations so far, as per Esports Charts. The viewership tracking site revealed new statistics for the event on Aug. 6, showcasing just how many games had set new records in viewership, including one name leading the way in views: Mobile Legends: Bang Bang. MLBB leads the viewership charts with the ...
Counter-Strike
CS2 at the EWC 2026 Preview: Odds, Details, Predictions and More
Owen Harsono
Top-tier Counter-Strike action returns at the Esports World Cup, as 32 of the best teams will take the trip to Paris to compete for millions of dollars. If you’re looking to watch the event, here’s everything you need to know and which teams to keep an eye on. The Esports World Cup is one of the largest CS2 events if we’re looking at prize pools, as $2,000,000 will be distributed ...
News
Opinion: Is Esports Tracing the Same Evolutionary Path As Traditional Sports?
Cecilia Ciocchetti
What happens when an industry compresses centuries of sporting evolution into less than a decade or two? Communities become global audiences overnight, rivalries spread through social media within minutes, and tournaments turn into entertainment products faster than ever before. And so what took traditional sports centuries to build has taken esports a fraction of that. From local communities to sold out arenas, and from informal matches to Olympic-style events, the ...
Counter-Strike
BLAST Bounty 2026 semi-final predictions: who’s making it to the grand final?
Owen Harsono
The top four teams we’re seeing at the BLAST Bounty 2026 semi-finals are far from what anyone would expect before the tournament began, but here we are. We’re only three matches from crowning a winner, so let’s take a look at the best BLAST Bounty semi-final predictions for both upcoming matchups. Starting the semi-finals off is a banger of a series between FaZe Clan and Team Spirit, which is one ...
Counter-Strike
We Ranked The Top 5 Most Hated CS2 Maps
Owen Harsono
If you’re a Counter-Strike player, you probably have that one map you always ban first in every Premier game — and you're not alone as almost everyone has one too. Below, we’ll take a look at the most hated maps in Counter-Strike history and explain why they are disliked by the community at large. Anubis is one of the newer releases in the Counter-Strike 2 map pool, but it has ...
Counter-Strike
The Top 10 Best Clutches in Counter-Strike History Ranked
Owen Harsono
Pulling off an impossible clutch is one of the greatest hits of dopamine any Counter-Strike 2 player can ever feel. However, pulling them off at the highest level can be a little tricky since everyone is so coordinated. That’s exactly why mind-blowing clutches are remembered forever. Let’s take a trip down memory lane and look at the 10 best clutches in Counter-Strike history. We’re opening the list with former mousesports ...
