Astralis replace cadiaN with HooXi for PGL Astana

The Danish IGL is out of the team after just seven months.

Casper "⁠cadiaN⁠" Møller has been benched by Astralis and is set to be replaced by Rasmus "⁠HooXi⁠" Nielsen as a stand-in for PGL Astana, with the departure of Sports Director Kasper Straube also announced.

The moves come after Astralis missed out on their fifth consecutive Major, as they were eliminated by B8 in the sixth-place decider match at the European MRQ.

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cadiaN joined Astralis in a shock move as a rifling IGL but the experiment didn't work out, as his addition failed to turn around the team's results outside of two encouraging campaigns at BLAST World Final and PGL Cluj-Napoca.

The Dane also struggled for individual impact after giving up his AWP. He averaged a 0.86 rating during his Astralis tenure and failed to record a single event rated above 1.00.

His replacement HooXi joins the team after a prolonged period of inactivity. The Dane was benched by G2 in July 2024 and hasn't played a HLTV-featured match since.

The 29-year-old will make his Astralis debut as a stand-in at PGL Astana, set to start on May 10.

"As a consequence of our lackluster results, culminating in the missed Major qualification, we are today parting ways with Sports Director Kasper Straube and In-Game Leader Casper "cadiaN" Møller," Jakob Hansen, Astralis CEO, said.

"Casper has proven himself to be a true professional, however, in the end, neither he nor the team managed to reach the level of play we had all hoped for. We wish Casper all the best going forward."

Astralis will play PGL Astana with the following roster:

Nicolai "⁠device⁠" Reedtz
Martin "⁠stavn⁠" Lund
Jakob "⁠jabbi⁠" Nygaard
Victor "⁠Staehr⁠" Staehr
Rasmus "⁠HooXi⁠" Nielsen (stand-in)

Casper "⁠ruggah⁠" Due (coach)