Astralis announce major organisational changes

Danish organisation Astralis have announced major organisational changes to their Counter-Strike department as they have terminated the contracts of their Sports Director Kasper Hvidt and Chief Analyst Nicolai 'HUNDEN' Petersen.

Hvidt has been with the team since 2017, serving as the Sports Director, while HUNDEN joined the decorated Danish team earlier this year in January as Head Analyst.

Astralis stated that the changes were made because of the team failing to live up to their own high standards and with the results not being satisfactory, the team has decided to move ahead in a different direction.

"First of all, I am proud my time with Astralis and would not do without it. There are so many good and talented people in that organization who have been part of both the ups and downs, and I have loved working with the teams and my colleagues. I am immensely proud of the more than 35 titles we have won across teams and the results we have achieved. If anything, I am sad that the initiatives and changes we've made over the recent period have not had the results we hoped for. It has been a difficult time after we had to put in a new team, but we have still managed to move forward as an organisation, also around the teams.
I would like to thank all those who have helped make the Astralis journey unforgettable. It's rare to be part of something that affects an entire culture and generation like we've managed to do, and I'm looking forward to seeing what the future holds."
Kasper Hvidt, former Sports Director, Astralis.

"In Astralis, we must always have ambitions to be the best. Players, fans and partners must go into every tournament with the feeling that we can win, but this has not been the case for too long and today we take the consequence. It is never easy to say goodbye to a very skilled and competent colleague, but the time has come for us to try something new. Kasper is almost an institution, not just in Astralis but in professional esports. His ideas about the approach to a professional performance culture have definitely had an impact on the teams' historical performance and results, and today, many of the methods are almost industry standards.
Together with the players and staff, Kasper will always be remembered as one of those who helped create the first Astralis era, and we owe him the greatest thanks for his efforts. I hope that this is recognized by all. I would also like to thank Nicolai for his time here. It was not as long as we had hoped, but in continuation of our work going forward, we need another profile to support the Head Coach. We wish Nicolai all the best."
Anders Hørsholt, CEO of Astralis.