The competitive CS:GO year has already begun with some qualifiers and minor online tournaments and with the first real LAN events fast approaching, the question on everybody’s lips is – can anyone get in the way of the Astralis dynasty?
There’s no argument, Astralis have been dominating the CS:GO professional scene for the past two years, breaking record after record. While things look a lot brighter for their competition now than they did this time last year, it’s still hard to find a team better than the Danish on the circuit.
This type of sustainability has never been seen before in Counter-Strike. What we used to call a dynasty in CS:GO now seems like a mere streak. Here we are, two years into the current Astralis lineup’s run, and we’re still wondering the same thing that was on our mind after DreamHack Masters Marseille 2018 – can anyone put a stop to this?
I won’t spoil it just yet, but here’s a hint – it sure isn’t looking likely.
For two years we’ve waited for someone to pop the Danish bubble. There were some cracks here and there. Team Liquid had their run last summer and finally looked like a team that can really contend for titles long term. And they were, they truly were. Some of the best CS I’ve seen, even counting Astralis themselves.
But no, the bubble did not burst. These months of unusual shortcomings turned out to be nothing but fuel for Astralis’ ever-running jet and they were right back at it with vengeance, adding a fourth Major win to their collection, third in a row. The bubble was not a bubble at all. It was an air balloon.
So how can Astralis be taken down from their thrown? Honestly, outside of age, I don’t see what could cause this lineup’s downfall. It’s just perfect. Complacency maybe? That seems like the only potential kryptonite that could stop the Danish wheel from spinning. But is it really plausible? The organization is on another level compared to their peers and both players and org have shown time and time again that complacency is not going to be an issue.
These dudes want to get better and refuse to accept that isn’t possible.
The worst news for anyone that’s waiting for Astralis’ downward spiral to commence, if my prediction indeed turns out correct, is that the oldest of the Danish boys is Peter “dupreeh” Rasmussen. He’s still only 26. Hang on, world, this Danish flight is far from done!
