How a WhatsApp group led to a player protest at BLAST Fall Final

As the issue of Astralis' registration of cadiaN grew muddier, team captains banded together and began talking among themselves. Here is how it unfolded.

As soon as it was reported on Sunday that Astralis' registration of Casper "⁠cadiaN⁠" Møller for the BLAST Fall Final might have been against the circuit's rules, the messages started flying.

One by one, the team captains of six of the other seven teams attending the event in Copenhagen came together in a WhatsApp group, where they discussed the sort of action that they would take to protest BLAST's decision to grant Astralis an emergency substitution on the grounds that Alexander "⁠br0⁠" Bro was "unfit to play."

"A lot of people were unhappy with the situation," one of the players in the group told HLTV on the condition of anonymity. "There were jokes about it. I think everyone knew something shady was happening. Everything happened pretty fast."

The discussion was spirited and carried on through the evening on Monday, the same day most players arrived in Copenhagen. Ultimately, it was decided that the captains would not fulfill their media duties the next day as a form of protest, bringing even more attention to what had become a hot topic in the lead-up to the Fall Final.

Leonid "⁠chopper⁠" Vishnyakov was the last to enter the group, being invited only after taking part in Spirit's media day session. That didn't stop him, however, from joining the other six captains in co-signing an open letter urging BLAST to revisit its decision and force head coach Casper "⁠ruggah⁠" Due to play, if br0 is deemed unfit.

Read more

Seven captains unite to protest BLAST-Astralis decision in open letter

"Players with experience know the shady stuff that Astralis are doing," the player said. "It's not the first time this has happened. But it's the first time that competitive integrity is at risk.

"When rules are being broken, that's when players say that enough is enough."

Tuesday's action took place almost four years to the day that another protest, organized by the Counter-Strike Professional Players' Association (CSPPA), threatened to plunge the 2020 Fall Finals into crisis.

Both instances, though vastly different in the motives behind them, show the power that players hold despite the unbalanced nature of their relationship with TOs and organizations.

The CSPPA might be long gone, but the issues that it was meant to tackle remain as prevalent as ever, especially as the Counter-Strike ecosystem enters a new chapter in 2025, when TOs will fight for eyeballs and teams, and the partner leagues will disappear.

At the same time, the way in which the CSPPA collapsed and some of the scandals in which it was involved should serve as a warning for the future.

"You cannot have people come from the outside to handle this type of stuff," the player said. "In the past, we've seen people come in with separate motives, usually greed or something else.

"I think the CS scene has trusted the wrong people many times."

According to the player, "most teams" had the support of their organization for Tuesday's protest. He explained that only the captains skipped media day duties rather than full rosters to prevent sanctions from BLAST.

"Something that is more powerful is also going to cause more legal problems. If it's a whole team, it's a problem."

Once the media day ended, the WhatsApp group was again buzzing with activity as the captains discussed how to react to BLAST's latest statement. With it, the tournament organizer sought to put the matter to bed, though questions remain about br0's health issues after he began trialing for other teams.

On X, FaZe captain Finn "⁠karrigan⁠" Andersen stressed that the players don't want to detract from their focus on the tournament. "Now it’s time to compete," he wrote. "We have voiced our opinion."

The player HLTV spoke with said that, while it's fair that teams will now focus on the event, the reasons for the protest should not be forgotten.

"There should be real punishment for something happening," he said. "If not, then two years from now, something like this could happen again because someone got away with it.

"That's why it's important to get justice."