Astralis bench blameF after RMR fiasco

The Danish squad are in the market for a new in-game leader after missing their home Copenhagen Major.

Benjamin "⁠blameF⁠" Bremer has been moved to Astralis' bench, the Danish team have announced. blameF, a top 20 player since 2020, has sported the red star since November 2021, but team success has been hard to come by as Astralis qualified for just one Major in four attempts.

Astralis invested in Martin "⁠stavn⁠" Lund and Jakob "⁠jabbi⁠" Nygaard to turn that around, but defeat to 9 Pandas in the Last Chance Qualifier confirmed Denmark's premier brand would be absent from the country's first Valve-sponsored Major.

blameF, as captain and in-game leader, has been held responsible for that loss by the organization and has been removed from the active roster.

"We have to acknowledge that we haven't succeeded with him in the role of IGL," Kasper Straube told Astralis' website. "There is a mismatch in profiles and roles [...] and we need to utilize players where they individually feel most comfortable so they can perform optimally."

blameF added: "I'm disappointed to be leaving Astralis and a team I hoped to bring back to the top. I probably saw it coming, as we haven't succeeded, even though it felt like we were on the right track. I play with four incredibly talented players, but we just haven't functioned as a team in the matches that really matter."

"I'll be looking to continue playing ASAP, but as a rifler (non IGL)," he tweeted.

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blameF is contracted to Astralis until the end of 2025, calling the organization "home" in September 2023, and had been the one point of continuity in the roster since 2021 as the squad underwent multiple rebuilds. His benching comes with a "sale in mind," the organization say.

Under Astralis, blameF earned three top 20 medals, one MVP and averaged a 1.23 rating as he maintained individual form throughout a turbulent three-year spell for the overall team.

The Dane even took on in-game leadership duties after the benching of Lukas "⁠gla1ve⁠" Rossander in the summer of 2023, a move that seemed to bear fruit when Astralis reached the top-four of IEM Cologne but has since proven more difficult as results slipped and he had to integrate stavn and jabbi into new roles.

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The move to bench the skipper follows criticism of a possible lack of leadership after 19-year-old Victor "⁠Staehr⁠" Staehr was the one to step up and conduct the team's exit interview at the RMR, a responsibility typically taken on by more senior members.

Astralis' next event is penciled in to be IEM Chengdu at the start of April, where Casper "⁠ruggah⁠" Due will debut as coach alongside a new fifth.

Astralis are now:

Nicolai "⁠device⁠" Reedtz
Martin "⁠stavn⁠" Lund
Jakob "⁠jabbi⁠" Nygaard
Victor "⁠Staehr⁠" Staehr

Casper "⁠ruggah⁠" Due (Coach)

Benjamin "⁠blameF⁠" Bremer (benched)