For anybody who began following CS:GO in 2017 onwards, the title Astralis was undoubtedly related to the phrase success and the Danish group completely deserves the credit score. Spearheaded by stars equivalent to dev1ce and dupreeh, the all-Dane crew went on to win 4 CS:GO Majors between 2017 and 2019, along with including a number of different S-tier trophies to their gallery, whereas additionally defining the meta different groups tried to emulate throughout that point.
However for anybody who began watching CS:GO esports in 2021, the title Astralis isn’t immediately related to success. Not solely did arguably essentially the most feared group within the historical past of Valve’s FPS fail to raise a single trophy that 12 months, which had by no means occurred earlier than, however it additionally misplaced essential items, first with dev1ce leaving to hitch Ninjas in Pyjamas within the first semester and later with the trio of dupreeh, Magisk, and head coach zonic departing to construct a brand new venture for Vitality in 2022.
Astralis hit an all-time low in 2022 when the gamers didn’t qualify for the IEM Rio Main in November, inflicting the group to overlook its first Valve-sponsored match because the membership was created in 2016. This prompted large modifications in Astralis, together with a coach swap and, most notably, the return of dev1ce, since neither of the AWPing selections the crew made labored after his departure in 2021.
There was just one lacking piece in Astralis for 2023 after the departure of analyst Frederik “LOMME” Nielsen in December. And regardless of the brand new rent being form of written all around the wall, followers nonetheless can’t consider Astralis truly pulled the set off and appointed the notorious former coach of Heroic and two-time cheater Nicolai “HUNDEN” Petersen as head analyst today.
Relying on what occurs, this transfer might endlessly tarnish the repute of Astralis. Given how far HUNDEN has gone in attempting to justify his acts previously, Astralis is taking a severe danger in associating its picture with him.
A report by Dexerto in August 2022 revealed HUNDEN labored with the Astralis gamers by a partnership with Goal Lab and the Danish group made it clear that its doorways could be open to him after he served his time. Nicely, one month after HUNDEN’s suspension was lifted by ESIC ahead of time, Astralis has given him this chance to come back again to skilled CS:GO.
Associated: CS:GO community enraged over “absolutely shameless” HUNDEN signing by Astralis
After an extended profession as a CS:GO in-game chief for tier-two groups in Denmark, HUNDEN made the swap to teaching in 2020 and was employed by Heroic, Astralis’ No. 1 rival within the nation. His teaching skills have been acknowledged very early as he helped Heroic grow to be a significantly better crew through the on-line period of CS:GO on the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. With him sitting behind the gamers, Heroic received their first notable occasion because the group was created in 2016 at ESL One Cologne Europe On-line in August 2020.
Heroic and HUNDEN, although, barely had any time to rejoice since HUNDEN was slapped with a suspension by the Esports Integrity Commission (ESIC) in September 2020 alongside 36 other coaches. The explanation? He was one of many individuals who abused the coach spectator bug, a type of dishonest that allowed the coaches spectating the net matches to put their cameras anyplace on the map and acquire an unfair benefit over their adversaries. HUNDEN at all times stated that the gamers didn’t know he had used this bug in two separate matches and took all of the blame for it.
Astralis, on the time, doubted that the Heroic gamers didn’t know what HUNDEN was doing. The founder and chairman of Astralis, Nikolaj Nyholm, implied the gamers knew all the pieces and brought on an uproar on social media.
HUNDEN remained as an analyst for Heroic till April 30, 2021, when his ban expired and he might return to actions. Not lengthy after it, he entered the historical past books as one of many few individuals to get banned for a second time. After Heroic and ESL bought suspicious forward of IEM Cologne in July 2021, an investigation performed by the ESIC concluded that HUNDEN tried to leak Heroic’s strategy folder to another team attending the tournament whereas he was attempting to maneuver on from Heroic and be part of one other crew, and banned him for 2 years because of making a menace to the integrity of the sport.
This time, nonetheless, HUNDEN didn’t take the blame quietly. Assuming that he could be out of CS:GO esports endlessly, HUNDEN accused the Heroic roster of 2020 of being complicit with the abuse of the coach spectator bug by an interview with Danish media. This led to the ESIC investigating cadiaN, stavn, TeSeS, b0rup, and niko.
The investigation couldn’t discover sufficient proof to punish cadiaN, stavn, TeSeS, and b0rup, however it did discover out that HUNDEN explicitly took benefit of his relationship with niko and manipulated him to assist with the coach spectator bug. Niko has ADHD and Asperger’s Syndrome, that are medical circumstances that may “have an effect on an individual’s capacity to know proper from mistaken [and] make values-based selections on [their] personal,” in accordance with the ADHD and Asperger’s Staff on the Nationwide Autistic Society and the ADHD Basis. Due to that, the ESIC solely warned niko and put him on a six-month probationary interval.
Associated: Who is HUNDEN and why was he banned from CS:GO?
To begin with, I completely assume individuals deserve a second probability in life and that everybody can commit errors—that’s what people do. For me, nonetheless, the abuse of the coach spectator bug and attempting to share the methods of Heroic aren’t the nucleus of the entire controversy involving HUNDEN.
Lots of people have cheated since CS:GO was created. Even s1mple, the best participant to ever contact this sport, admittedly cheated at the beginning of his career. What we will’t neglect, although, is that HUNDEN, a grown-up grownup who had been competing since 2009 in Counter-Strike: Supply, abused his relationship with niko, who has ADHD and Asperger’s Syndrome, and tried to throw each one in all his Heroic gamers below the bus and probably destroy their careers the second time he was banned. This confirmed his true character and what he’s able to doing.
Secondly, HUNDEN additionally betrayed Heroic as a corporation, who saved him on the payroll throughout the entire time he was banned for abusing the coach spectator bug and allowed him to work with the gamers as an analyst.
At this level, HUNDEN’s unethical acts ought to have burned all his bridges on the prime of CS:GO. However in some way, a corporation like Astralis is more than pleased to open its doorways to him due to all of the clear expertise he has in arising with strats and analyzing CS:GO. For now, he’ll solely be working within the background and folks received’t see his face, however who can assure he received’t grow to be the crew’s head coach in six months ought to the present coach Peter “casle” Ardenskjold fail to get essentially the most out of dev1ce and crew?
Is that this the instance we need to set for children, to probably permit a two-time cheater and somebody who has a dangerous persona to teach within the prime occasions of CS:GO esports once more? And maybe most significantly, ought to Astralis put its religion in somebody like HUNDEN to help in attempting to steer the org again to the highest?
We don’t know the way this story will unfold, but when HUNDEN slips up as soon as once more, this might endlessly change the picture of Astralis. The Danish membership will not be solely connected to success and as an alternative will likely be related to an notorious cheater. From this level on, the legacy Astralis has constructed since 2016 is in danger.
