Astralis recently announced its complete League of Legends roster for the 2021 LEC season.
Since moving on from the Origen brand back in September, Astralis will now be looking to almost start from scratch. The team’s plan is to build up “a solid foundation and to constantly progress,” the organization announced in an official statement.
Welcome to Denmark. Welcome to the #AstralisFamily. pic.twitter.com/m2z9U2V3zE
— Astralis (@Astralisgg) November 17, 2020
The most notable changes are the fact that Astralis has picked up former AGO ROGUE jungler Nikolay “Zanzarah” Akatov, who had a great 2020 season. The young jungler showcased great individual skill and could potentially become the next big European jungle star under the right guidance.
Astralis will also be adding the young Swedish bot laner Jesper “Jeskla” Strømberg, who recently played for mousesports with great success in the German Prime League. Jeskla has played on some great European regional teams throughout the past years and now it’s finally time for him to prove himself against the best in Europe.
To guide the rookies through 2021, Astralis will be keeping the experienced mid laner Erland “Nukeduck” Holm, who has been with Astralis Group since they entered the LEC in 2019.
The top and support position will be occupied by former BIG player Matti “Whiteknight” Sormunen and former mousesports support Hampus “promisq” Abrahamsson. Both players have been in the game for years with previous experience in the EU LCS.
Since the rumors about the new LEC started floating around social media, fans have been skeptical of Astralis’ approach to the upcoming season. Fans are afraid that the team will lack individual depth, but the newly formed Astralis coaching staff is very optimistic about the upcoming season.
“Bjørn-Vegar ‘iHansen’ Hansen and I have been hard at work in getting everything ready for the team and the season,” head coach Baltat “AoD” Alin-Ciprian said. “We are planning and strategizing to be as prepared for the 2021 Spring Split as possible.”
AoD further states that they pretty much got the players that they wanted and that they can all contribute to a good team environment. All new players on the team have previous success in the European leagues which makes the project very interesting to follow.
AoD notes that the goal isn’t to top the LEC right away, but instead build up a solid team over time. The expectation seems to be a middle-of-the-pack team in spring and be a contender for the summer playoffs if they are able to implement their way of working and maintain confidence.
Astralis will play its first official match when the LEC starts back up in early 2021.
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