zonic may leave Astralis and take multiple players with him

After more than five years as the Astralis head coach, Danny “zonic” Sørensen might be looking at new options after his contract expires at the end of this year 

According to a recent report by HLTV, the Danish head coach might be looking to leave the organization at the end of the year. If the reports are true, the legendary team would lose the head coach who has played a big part in the team’s countless trophies over the last five years. Astralis is reportedly already looking for options if zonic leaves, with Heroic coach Nicolai “HUNDEN” Petersen as the top candidate to replace him.

The departure of zonic could mark the start of a major shakeup for Astralis after years of relative stability. The report states that there has been tension between the team and the organization for several months, which could see them walk after their contracts expire towards the end of 2021. 

According to HLTV, zonic’s contract is set to expire alongside those of longstanding core players Lukas “gla1ve” Rossander, Emil “Magisk” Reif, Peter “dupreeh” Rasmussen, and Andreas “Xyp9x” Højsleth. If Astralis and the players are unable to reach an agreement on contract extensions, fans might be looking at a completely new Astralis team next year and could be looking at the major-winning lineup shopping for a new sponsor.

After years of dominance, the Danish squad has started to slow down its pace in 2021. The inconsistencies started last year when Astralis was forced to rotate players after Xyp9x and gla1ve went on medical leave. This had Astralis find other solutions by adding Lucas “Bubzkji” Andersen and Patrick “es3tag” Hansen, though es3tag’s time with Astralis ended in a few months after being transferred to Cloud9. 

In April this year, Astralis was hit by another roster change after star player Nicolai “dev1ce” Reedtz was released by the organizations by his own wish to join Ninjas in Pyjamas. Since the transfer, Astralis has struggled to match its usual results. 

As the only team to win four Major trophies, there’s still a chance that Astralis can bounce back and solve the reported problems before the year ends. The next event for Astralis will be IEM Cologne 2021, which kicks off next week. This will be the first time where the teams are back on LAN in a while, which is something that might suit Astralis. 

Astralis will play its first match in ESL Cologne 2021 on Friday, July 9.