After losing three games in a row, Astralis’ Peter “dupreeh” Rasmussen took to Twitter to defend the team’s two stand-ins.
The second-ranked team in the world has lost five of its last six after the departures of in-game leader Lukas “gla1ve” Rossander and rifler Andreas “Xyp9x” Højsleth. Fans of the organization aren’t pleased with the profound dip in production. One member of Astralis took the time to send a message to doubters on Twitter, saying that its current stand-ins, Marco “Snappi” Pfeiffer and Jakob “JUGi” Hansen, aren’t the problem.
A frustrated dupreeh sent out a tweet telling players that they shouldn’t expect to see the same team they’re accustomed to, especially with both gla1ve and Xyp9x on indefinite leave.
Stop expecting the same astralis right now. It’s not Snappi or JUGis who’s the issue or anything, we’re working hard through this period to get into the shape we want to be in. We will lose some, and win some. We’ve spent less than a week working on this lineup. Keep that in mind
— Peter Rasmussen (@dupreeh) June 1, 2020
dupreeh made it clear in the tweet that Astralis hasn’t spent enough time practicing with their current lineup to be effective against elite CSGO competition, and that doesn’t bode well for the team as Counter-Strike barrels towards the second scheduled Regional Ranking tournament, CS Summit 6. The online tournament will award ranking points which are needed to qualify for the November CSGO Major, ESL One Rio.
Looking for more on Valve’s Regional Ranking tournaments? Read about the invited teams and format of June’s CS Summit 6 right here.
In some respects, dupreeh is correct. While both Snappi and JUGi struggled in their opening games with Astralis, both have improved over Astralis’ three losses, the team is still nowhere near as dominant as it was before two of its long-standing members decided to take a break.
While Astralis will most likely bounce back to some degree, it’s unreasonable for fans to expect the team to return to peak form without gla1ve’s shot-calling and Xyp9x’s famous clutch ability. Until then, Astralis fans will just have to sit tight and see if Astralis’ reworked roster can perform well in events outside the RMR circuit.
Astralis’ next matchup comes against Ninjas in Pyjamas on Tuesday, June 9 at 8 a.m. EST. NiP won their last showdown.
Players must be 21 years of age or older or reach the minimum age for gambling in their respective state and located in jurisdictions where online gambling is legal. Please play responsibly. Bet with your head, not over it. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, and wants help, call or visit: (a) the Council on Compulsive Gambling of New Jersey at 1-800-Gambler or www.800gambler.org; or (b) Gamblers Anonymous at 855-2-CALL-GA or www.gamblersanonymous.org.
