Seven Years, Then Five Days: Astralis Win Their First LAN Title Since 2019, Then Bench Two Players
In 2018, Astralis looked unbeatable. Then came seven years without a proper LAN trophy. On October 4, 2026, they won one again, and five days later two of the players who won it were gone. Here is how a dynasty ends up here.
Counter-Strike has watched plenty of dynasties fade. Few have returned to the winner's stage and shaken up the roster within a week.
The Dynasty
Astralis built the most decorated run in the game's history. Between 2017 and 2019 the Danish core won four Majors, which passed Fnatic's record of three. Their Berlin win in 2019 made them the first team to win three Majors in a row. Over 2018 and early 2019 they won 12 events, including the Intel Grand Slam, and many fans called them the greatest CS:GO team of all time.
The Long Wait
After that peak, the trophies dried up. Players left, lineups changed, and the club went years without lifting a proper LAN title. That drought is what makes October so striking.
Under in-game leader HooXi, who joined in June 2025, Astralis kept getting close. They reached the grand finals of PGL Astana 2025, FISSURE Playground 1, and PGL Bucharest 2026 without winning one.
October 4 in Barcelona
On October 4, 2026, Astralis finally won. At Stake Ranked Episode 4 in Barcelona, they beat Nemiga 3-1 in the final, their first proper LAN title in nearly seven years. The result also moved them into the top 10 of Valve's regional standings, which decide invites to the PGL Major in Singapore.
Five Days Later
On October 9, CEO Jonas Gundersen announced on X that the club had benched HooXi and jabbi. According to Dot Esports, both sides agreed that Astralis would continue without them while their contracts run out. HooXi's deal expires in December, and jabbi's employment ends in November.
The move was not entirely out of nowhere. In August, the club had tried to dispel rumors about HooXi's benching after parting ways with another player. Gundersen said it was time to turn the page on the era of the Danish roster and pointed to a goal of building a legacy in the mold of Real Madrid and the Los Angeles Lakers.
The numbers behind the decision are mixed. Over the past three months, HooXi had the lowest HLTV rating on the team at 0.93, while jabbi posted 1.09 across the same 65 maps. HooXi arrived as a stand-in before taking over from cadiaN as in-game leader, and jabbi came from HEROIC with stavn in November 2023.
Who Is Left
Only one Danish player remains on the active roster, Victor "Staehr" Staehr, alongside Sweden's Love "phzy" Smidebrant and Lithuania's Gytis "ryu" Glušauskas. The head coach is Filip "NEO" Kubski, a Polish legend who won the 2014 Katowice Major with Virtus.pro.
HLTV reported that Astralis were looking at former MOUZ and Liquid in-game leader Kamil "siuhy" Szkaradek, and that Nikita "cmtry" Samolotov was expected to join on loan from FUT and switch from the AWP to rifling. Neither move had been officially confirmed at the time of writing.
A Reset at the Top
Winning and reshuffling in the same week looks strange, but the pieces fit. Two contracts were running down, the results under the old leader had plateaued at the finals, and the title gave the club a platform of confidence and a Major invite to rebuild around. Whether the new group can do more than the old one is the real question, and the Singapore Major will be the first big test.
Keep Up With the History
Following how teams rise, fade, and reset makes every roster move more interesting. The mini games on CS Guess test that kind of knowledge, covering prices, rarity, and the history behind this game, with free perks for playing well.
Head over to CS Guess and see how much of this scene you know.