br0 to play for Astralis in Shanghai as device out until 2025

In an unexpected turn of events, Astralis' benched player has been called to play in Shanghai.

Astralis star Nicolai "⁠device⁠" Reedtz has been ruled out for the rest of the season due to medical reasons, the player announced Thursday. Alexander "⁠br0⁠" Bro, Astralis' benched member, will play at the Europe RMR and at the Major, should the team manage to qualify for the season-ending event.

In a post on X, the Danish AWPer revealed that he was forced to take a break after experiencing "a recurrence of stress-related health challenges" during the team's recent trip to Singapore for the BLAST Premier World Final.

"The first nights I was having issues with sleep and I wouldn’t be getting more than a few hours each night," he explained. "As the week progressed, I would progressively get worse symptoms including less sleep, cramps, heart palpitations and extreme fatigue.

"I hoped and expected these symptoms would get better as soon as I got home, but I have to face the reality that I’m still not at a point where it’s realistic for me to compete."

device's absence comes as a huge blow for the Danish outfit, which is eager to return to a Major after missing the last three events. His unavailability should mean that Casper "⁠cadiaN⁠" Møller, who was unveiled in September as a rifling IGL and is still recovering from a broken elbow, will be picking up the AWP.

This is not the first time that device has been sidelined due to health reasons. In late 2017, he missed the last three events of the season, BLAST Pro Series Copenhagen, the ESL Pro League Season 6 Finals and the ECS Season 4 Finals, due to health reasons, returning to the starting lineup at the Boston Major.

In late 2021, while playing for Ninjas in Pyjamas, the Danish AWPer withdrew from IEM Winter before the semi-finals and missed the BLAST Premier World Final after complaining of feeling unwell. On X, he later revealed that his mental health had "taken a hammering" that year because of personal reasons and stress. He ended up returning to action only in October 2022 after a transfer back to Astralis.

"This season has been tough and I have not been prioritizing myself enough," device writes about not making the trip to Shanghai. "Honestly, I can’t tell if I feel better or worse having faced a similar situation before. I know what it takes to get back and how amazing it feels on the other side. On the other hand, I know how hard this process is and how much it wears on my mind.

"Most of all this hurts the most knowing I’m letting down the team and our fans in the most important part of the season. These are the people that are fueling my passion to return and having to disappoint them is heartbreaking for me."

Despite his history of medical woes, device expects to be back in time for the start of the 2025 season.

"For now it is time to rest before planning a sustainable return," he said.

It is an odd twist to the ongoing saga involving br0, who was removed from the starting lineup to make way for cadiaN. The former HEROIC captain was registered for the BLAST Premier Fall Final past the roster submission deadline after Astralis claimed that br0 was unfit to play at the Danish event.

Read more

BLAST request ESIC investigation into Astralis' emergency substitution for BLAST Fall Final

In doing so, Astralis may have broken the tournament's rules, HLTV reported, especially considering that br0's agent publicly said his player was "fully healthy and ready to perform." This sparked outrage in the Counter-Strike community and led to a protest during media day by the captains of the seven other teams attending the Fall Final.

After acknowledging that it took Astralis' request "at face value", BLAST requested the Esports Integrity Commission (ESIC) to investigate the matter. The esports watchdog has not provided any updates on the investigation.

Astralis are slated to face 9 Pandas in their first match in Europe RMR B. The Danish side is the fifth-highest-ranked team in the tournament, after G2, Spirit, Eternal Fire and HEROIC.

Date	Matches
Perfect World Shanghai Major 2024 Europe RMR B
21/11/2024	Astralis 07:25 9 Pandas	Match

Astralis will travel to Shanghai with:

Martin "⁠stavn⁠" Lund
Jakob "⁠jabbi⁠" Nygaard
Victor "⁠Staehr⁠" Staehr
Casper "⁠cadiaN⁠" Møller
Alexander "⁠br0⁠" Bro

Casper "⁠ruggah⁠" Due (coach)