Astralis Group, the Danish parent group of Astralis, has announced they are merging all of their activities under one banner. With this move, all of the Astralis-owned eSports teams will rename and represent one of the most well-known badges in the eSports world.
Stars Unite Under One Banner
Astralis is one of the most recognizable names in the competitive eSports scene, largely due to the success of their Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) team. Just under a year ago, Astralis won their fourth Major Championship (StarLadder Berlin Major). The win solidified them as the most successful team in the history of CS:GO.
Even though their CS:GO roster takes most of the spotlight, Astralis Group also owns two highly successful teams, including a FIFA roster (named “Future FC”), as well as League of Legends team: “Origen,” who will now both rename to “Astralis.”
“Through the merger of all activities and our team brands, we position ourselves as a leading organization in international eSports,” Astralis Group CEO Anders Hørsholt said. “Already today, the red star is iconic in the eSports scene, and we have made the strategic decision to dedicate all resources to creating a truly global brand in eSports and gaming. Digitally, physically and team-wise, all our future activities will be done in the Astralis name and based upon the same values that characterize the organization.”
Astralis’ First Venture into League of Legends
With the rebranding, Astralis have officially entered the League of Legends (LoL) competitive scene and will now compete in Europe’s premier LoL league – the League of Legends European Championship (LEC). Astralis Group revealed that the former Origen roster will be playing in new jerseys and under a different banner. Also, the team will work on changing everything around the team to “reflect a new, yet well-known direction” and will rebuild the organization “to include both known and new faces.”
This rebrand might be precisely what Origen needed, following their disastrous performance in the LEC 2020 Summer, where they finished in the last place with a 33% win rate (6-12). The LEC 2020 Summer marked Origen’s worst split since EU LCS 2016 Summer when they finished in ninth place with a 2-8-8 record.
Origen’s lack of success this season was highly unexpected. Featuring top-laner Barney “Alphari” Morris, jungler Andrei “Xerxe” Dragomir, mid-laner Erlend “Nukeduck” Våtevik Holm, support Mitchell “Destiny” Shaw, and ADC Elias “Upset” Lipp, Origen had one of the most stacked rosters in Europe. But even with all that talent, Origen did not have enough to contend for their first LEC title.
As it stands now, Astralis has yet to announce any roster changes to their LoL team, while they did unveil some changes to their coaching personnel. Taking over the head coach position will be Origen’s assistant coach, Baltat “AoD” Alin-Ciprian, whose former role will be handed to ex-Nordavind head coach Bjørn-Vegar “iHansen” Hansen. Lars Robl will keep his position as the performance manager, whereas a role for André “Guilhoto” Guilhoto (former head coach) has yet to be determined.
Most notable among the changes are the departure of General Manager of Origen Martin “Deficio” Lynge and Origen founder and former player Enrique “xPeke” Cedeño Martínez. However, xPeke will remain as a shareholder of the Astralis Group.
“First of all, we need to thank Martin and Enrique for their massive efforts in Origen,” Director of Sports at Astralis Group Kasper Hvidt said. “They have been vital for our venture into League of Legends, and we part with them as active members of the organization with very mixed emotions. We needed to establish a new direction with a clearer Astralis footprint, and it was obvious to all this would require real change.”
“We wanted a coaching team with a clear concept and vision, with a passion to challenge the existing together with the new Performance Manager.”
No Changes for Astralis’ FIFA Team
Astralis Group has not announced any changes to their newly formed FIFA roster, meaning the same three players in Fatih “FIFAÜstun” Üstün, Roee “Roee” Feldmann, and Stephanie “Teca” Luana will represent Astralis’ brand in the FIFA competitive scene.
Future FC formed just over a year ago in August 2019 and has already left a footprint in the eSports scene. Even though FIFAÜstun and his teammates have yet to win a single FIFA tournament, they managed a top-six finish at the FIFA 20 Summer Cup Series MEA last month. FIFAÜstun also managed a ninth-16th place finish at the FUT 20 Champions Cup Stage 1 after he narrowly lost (2-1) to the eventual grand finalist Flávio “Fifilza” Brito in the playoffs.
