gla1ve Believes Astralis Won't Return To Greatness For 'Quite Some Time'

The Astralis dynasty in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is one of the most dominant eras in the entirety of esports, especially during 2018 where the roster turned everything they touched into gold. 

However, 2021 has not been a desirable few months, having not won a single event since the turn of the year. 

The global pandemic seemed to have put a halt to Astralis' success, although two championships in December and a silver medal at BLAST Premier: Global Final in January had many fans thinking that they were back to their best. 

Six months later and the greatest roster in recent years faces their biggest rebuilding job yet, having seen Nicolai "dev1ce" Reedtz move to Ninjas in Pyjamas and the rest of the squad coming to the end of their contracts.

Now, Astralis captain Lukas "⁠gla1ve⁠" Rossander believes they will not return to greatness unless they replace his fellow Dane.

GLA1VE Admits Astralis Won't Take THE 'NO.1 SPOT FOR QUITE SOME TIME'

Ahead of the first CS LAN in months, gla1ve was hopeful that the side will recapture some of their previous form. Speaking to HLTV in a press conference, the captain said "Hopefully, we're going to win it all, smash all the teams and we'll call ourselves the best team in the world because we're back on LAN. But that's probably not going to happen."

"It's probably going to take quite a lot of time. Not having a specific AWP player pretty much hurts us. That's the worst part about us at the moment. If we had a consistent AWP player that wanted to play the AWP... dupreeh wants to rifle but he is playing the AWP because he has to.

"If we had an AWP player, I think we could be the best team in the world again. But since we don't have that, I don't see us taking the No.1 spot for quite some time."

Can Astralis Win IEM Cologne?

According to gla1ve, their problem lies with the AWP role, currently occupied by Peter "dupreeh" Rasmussen. 

Speaking in the same press conference, dupreeh gave Astralis fans a slither of hope ahead of IEM Cologne. He admitted "I've always had the mindset of trying to help the team the best possible way, and we made a decision that me picking up the AWP was probably the best solution.

"We've made a more hybrid composition of it and now it's shifted a bit more, and that also gives me a bit more freedom."

Astralis begin their venture for success in the Upper Bracket, although their group will pit them against some of Counter-Strike's biggest monsters. Should they advance through the rounds, both Heroic (Ranked 3rd in the world) and Natus Vincere (1st) will likely be awaiting - barring any major upsets.

The road to glory looks tough for a struggling Astralis side, although we've all seen what happens on LAN when they begin to find some form...