Was k0nfig removed from Astralis due to a fist fight in Malta?

Kristian “k0nfig” Wienecke was earlier plucked out of Astralis’ starting roster for RMR following an ankle injury, which reports suggest resulted from a fist fight in Malta. 

Astralis’ rainy days that started at the beginning of 2021 continue to mar them as 2022 draws to an end. The team recently suffered a loss at the ESL Pro League Season 16 group stage after bagging only two wins. While the performance was a bummer, it was k0nfig’s injury afterward that put a bad taste in the mouth of Astralis fans. The Danish team had to bring in 18-year-old academy player Mikkel “MistR” Thomsen in k0nfig’s place to compete in the IEM Rio Major Europe Regional Major Ranking tournament. 

The roster is all set for upcoming events in October, but without the team’s primary gun k0nfig. No one knew much about the mysterious injury, but Jaxon reports that it was due to a fist fight post ESL loss in Malta. 

k0nfig denies “BS rumors” of a fist fight

On September 20, Astralis announced k0nfig’s removal from the starting lineup due to a major ankle injury. This news came soon after reports of Nicolai “dev1ce” Reedtz and Astralis’ mutual interest in bringing him back to his former home. 

According to Jaxon, k0nfig was part of a quarrel after Astralis’ loss in the ESL Pro League. The entry fragger suffered a fracture, leading to his removal from the squad. k0nfig has responded to Jaxon’s report, calling it “BS rumors.” He further said that he’d return once the doctors gave him the green light. 

Jaxon contacted me with rumors that are mostly BS, and I asked them to respect it is private. Ofc they went ahead anyway and even added to the story, so I asked them not to contact me again. It hurts like hell, but I hope to get green light from the doctor so I can get back soon!

— Kristian Wienecke (@k0nfig) September 27, 2022

Astralis quickly found a replacement in MistR, but the last-moment mishap has put k0nfig’s future into jeopardy. The Danish organization reportedly talked with NiP to shop dev1ce, who had marked Astralis as his priority team. However, the star AWPer’s massive payout is a likely reason for the delays. 

Considering the dev1ce to NiP discussion, k0nfig’s injury from a quarrel comes at a bad time. While his performance hasn’t precisely been stellar lately, Astralis would still logically have removed Asger “Farlig” Jensen to accommodate the new AWPer. However, recent events change a lot. It remains to be seen how Astralis plays this situation. It has a potentially empty slot to fill, but one that demands an ace rifler.