Astralis captain Lukas "gla1ve" Rossander returned to play for the team yesterday after spending almost four months on the sidelines. The IGL's second debut for Astralis was spoiled, however, as his first game back resulted in a loss.
Gla1ve Back to Action for Astralis
Fans of Astralis and the organization itself must have been overjoyed by the news that in-game leader gla1ve is returning to professional CS:GO. The 24-year-old went to an inactive role in May in an attempt to ease his mental state amid complaints of stress and burnout. Shortly after, teammate Andreas "Xyp9x" Højsleth did the same, which left Astralis in a very uncomfortable spot.
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During that period, the Danish organization turned to new additions Jacob "JUGi" Hansen (who has since left the team), Patrick "es3tag" Hansen and Lucas "Bubzkji" Andersen, as well as stand-in Marco "Snappi" Pfeiffer in order to fill the void left by the pair of veterans.
He's back.#ToTheStars I #ESLProLeague pic.twitter.com/3LQVB9Fvlw
— Astralis Counter-Strike (@AstralisCS) September 3, 2020
Results weren't anywhere near what we're used to from Astralis, the latest of disappointments coming at ESL One Cologne where the team got eliminated at the quarter-final stage. That makes gla1ve's return not only a feel good moment, but what seems a mandatory change to get the squad back up to shape.
Astralis Lose in Gla1ve Return
The IGL's first match experience after his return did not exactly go to plan, however. Complexity Gaming came up with an extremely tight 2-0 ESL Pro League Season 12 victory to spoil the party. Both maps ended with a 19-17 OT win for CoL, so it's not like signs of the old Astralis weren't already there.
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The man sacrificed in order for gla1ve to re-enter the starting lineup is es3tag. While logical at first glance, it's well worth noting that the newcomer was Astralis' top performer in Cologne. It would be interesting to see what this benching will mean for team morale and es3tag's confidence.
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