Astralis replaces cadiaN with HooXi before PGL Astana 2025

Danish organization Astralis has officially announced roster changes: team captain Kasper “cadiaN” Møller has been removed from the starting five, and his place will be temporarily taken by Rasmus “HooXi” Nielsen, who will play as a stand-in at the PGL Astana tournament.

In addition to the changes in the roster, the club also announced the resignation of sporting director Kasper Straube. According to CEO Jakob Hansen, these decisions were the result of the failure to qualify for the next Major - the fifth in a row that Astralis will miss. The last straw was the defeat in the sixth place match against B8 at the European qualifying tournament.

The failed era of cadiaN in Astralis
CadiaN's move from Heroic to Astralis in the fall of 2024 came as a surprise: the experienced sniper joined the team as a captain of the rafters. However, the experiment did not pay off: the team's results remained unstable, and cadiaN's personal form was constantly declining.

The player's average rating during this period was only 5.4, and not a single tournament with his participation ended with a high score.

HooXi's return after a long break
HooXi, who has not played in major tournaments since July 2024 after being eliminated from G2, returns to the active roster as part of Astralis . The 29-year-old Dane has extensive captaincy experience and is likely to be a temporary solution for the PGL Astana, which is scheduled to start on May 10.

Astralis hopes that with the arrival of a new leader, it will be able to stabilize the game and return to competing at the top level.

Astralis lineup for PGL Astana:
Nicolai “device” Reedtz
Martin “stavn” Lund
Jakob “jabbi” Nygaard
Victor “Staehr” Staehr
Rasmus “HooXi” Nielsen (stand-in)
Casper “ruggah” Due (trainer)

The PGL Astana will be a key test for the new Astralis lineup, both in terms of results and fan confidence.