No team has dominated the modern era of Counter-Strike like Astralis. The Danish juggernauts have been a tier 1 threat since forming from the ashes of Team SoloMid in 2016 and their first Major victory in 2017 cemented them as a permanent fixture of CSGO’s top-level.

Their meteoric rise in 2018 was one of the most dominant years from any esports team ever, bagging 10 championships and more than $3,500,000 of prize money in less than a year. This continued into 2019 with them becoming the first team to win three majors in a row, but, what or who is the secret to their success?

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After replacing Karrigan at the back end of 2016, gla1ve has become the most decorated captain in CS:GO. His ability to optimize every player on his squad is unparalleled and he has proven time and again to have the ability to outmaneuver his opponents.

He took a hiatus from Astralis due to burnout, but now he’s back. The IGL was sorely missed during his time away from the team, but upon his return, he’s helping them get back to where they should be.

With an ESL Pro League 12 victory and third place at DreamHack Open Fall 2020, Astralis are well on their way back to the stars, but there’s still some way to go yet.