Community reacts to cadiaN's Astralis move, reunion with jabbi and stavn

Surprise, disbelief, confusion, and more echoed across social media for hours after the announcement.

The plug has been pulled on Nicolai "⁠device⁠" Reedtz's captaincy of Astralis after the organization's shock announcement of adding Casper "⁠cadiaN⁠" Møller as a rifling in-game leader.

Read more

Astralis sign cadiaN as rifling IGL

The change, which ends Alexander "⁠br0⁠" Bro's short-lived stint with the lineup, brings about a reunion of the former HEROIC core of cadiaN, Martin "⁠stavn⁠" Lund, and Jakob "⁠jabbi⁠" Nygaard that seemed entirely inconceivable following the "stabbi" drama that unfolded at the end of 2023.

The relationship between cadiaN and his former teammates looked irreparably broken after a fractious end to their time together on HEROIC, when stavn and jabbi were accused of initiating a push to replace the captain before turning around and joining Astralis after his removal.

Read more

Heroic temporarily remove stavn and jabbi amid Astralis interest

However, it seems time — and a torrid run of results for Astralis, culminating in their group stage elimination from ESL Pro League — heals all wounds. The community was still completely caught off-guard by the announcement, but before delving into reactions, let's hear cadiaN's words on the change:

"I'm thrilled to have signed with Astralis," the 29-year-old said in the announcement on Astralis' website. "I understand some might see this as a controversial move, given my history with the team and past rivalries.

"But the truth is, I share the same vision as Astralis: always striving to be the best, building a top Danish CS roster, and competing for the biggest titles.

"This reunion with jabbi and stavn is, of course, exciting for all of us. We've addressed the challenges we faced in the past, and today we're fully aligned. After a year of reflection, we’re still hungry for trophies and continue to share the same tactical vision that drove our success before."

Read more

Complexity eliminate Astralis from EPL

Reactions to the announcement were, expectedly, filled with confusion at the sudden reparation of a bridge thought burned, mixed with mirth at the "soap-opera level plot twist" to the "stabbi" saga and the reunion.

Anirudh "Paladin" Ajay and Danish analysts Jacob "⁠Pimp⁠" Winneche and Lucas "⁠Bubzkji⁠" Andersen expressed their belief in the change, with the latter two praising Astralis for making the move sooner rather than later.

Fabian Broich, br0's player agent, expressed frustration and asked Astralis to "have at least some class" after their announcement gave no credit to the player for his services, mentioning his name only to say who cadiaN replaced.

And finally, Ayush "⁠mzinho⁠" Batbold used his first-ever post on X to give cadiaN a warm welcome back in a humorous jab and callback to when the Dane called The MongolZ "f**king noobs" at IEM Cologne 2023.