Astralis remove trace, casle to take over as interim coach

Astralis has announced the removal of its first team coach, Martin “⁠trace⁠” Heldt, just days after the main squad failed to qualify for the IEM Rio Major, which sentenced the Danish organization to miss its first Valve-backed event since entering CS:GO in 2016.

This is the second notable change to the team after the failed Major bid as the Danish organization cut ties with Kristian “⁠k0nfig⁠” Wienecke, who missed the Major-qualifying RMR event in Malta due to an injury sustained in a fight outside of a club in the Mediterranean island nation.

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k0nfig and Astralis part ways

The 32-year-old coach was first promoted to the first team from the academy when the PGL Major Antwerp cycle began in March because of a coaching bug ban affecting Astralis‘ head coach at the time, Alexander “⁠ave⁠” Holdt.

trace‘s first test came at ESL Pro League Season 15, where the team made the quarter-finals, but the Major run was not as successful as the team failed to make it past the Challengers Stage in Belgium. Since then, Astralis got a semi-final finish at IEM Cologne 2022, but for the most part struggled to contend for trophies.

Astralis Talent coach Peter “⁠casle⁠” Ardenskjold has now been called up to lead the team in the interim while management works on finding a long-term replacement for trace.

Imminent changes are expected and the future of k0nfig‘s substitute, Mikkel “⁠MistR⁠” Thomsen, is still unknown, although the youngster will play BLAST Premier Fall Showdown with Astralis. The Danish organization has also been linked with a possible return of star AWPer Nicolai “⁠device⁠” Reedtz, who has been on the sidelines for a year since taking leave from Ninjas in Pyjamas‘s active roster.

“In the coming weeks and months, we will work on modernizing and developing the organization around the Counter-Strike team, where our Director of Sports will be looking at all current and potentially new roles and needed upgrades on and around the team,” says Anders Hørsholt, Astralis‘ CEO.

“We have set the bar incredibly high with what we achieved in 2018-19. No one will ever reach that level of dominance, but that does not change the task on hand: We must restore clarity in the way we do things, and we must return to a position where we are in the fight for titles and top positions. It won’t happen overnight, but the work has begun.”