HooXi: "It would be nice to lift a trophy of this caliber as a start"

The Danish captain said the team aims to build on the second place in Astana.

Astralis are one victory away from the playoffs at FISSURE Playground 1 after beating MIBR 2-0 in their opening series in Belgrade.

For the Danish team, it was a long-awaited return to action after a two-month break from competition. Their last tournament was PGL Astana, where they reached the final before ultimately coming up short against Spirit.

"Everyone was super hyped to get back," Rasmus "⁠HooXi⁠" Nielsen told HLTV after the match. "Me as well. I think we just want to build on the result we had in Astana and we were, like, we just want to get back to show it."

This is HooXi's first event as a full member of Astralis, having signed with the Danish organization last month after a stand-in appearance in Astana.

Astralis are widely regarded as one of the favorites to win the tournament in Belgrade, and HooXi believes that lifting the trophy would be a major confidence boost as they look to build on the result in Astana and break into the top 10 in the ranking.

"It would be nice to lift a trophy of this caliber as a start, something like this tournament we're in right now, and then kind of work from there," he said. "I think just consistently getting into arenas is something that I would look forward to."

Listen to the interview here.

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A 2-0 victory here in your first match at FISSURE. Give me your thoughts on the team's performance today.

I think it was good. I expected a bit of rust coming into the first official, so I think it made sense that we didn't close out Nuke as cleanly as we could have. But overall, I'm pretty satisfied. I think our game plan worked very well, both T and CT on both maps. In general, I'm happily surprised that we didn't make a lot of newbie mistakes because it's the first game.

 This was your first official match in two months. How excited was everyone to get back on the server after this break? And was it hard for everyone to watch the Major from home, especially after the result in Astana, where you made the final?

Everyone was super hyped to get back. Me as well. I think we just want to build on the result we had in Astana and we were, like, we just want to get back to show it. It was not that heartbreaking for me to be at home during the Major because I was kind of mentally prepared for that because I was a free agent for so long, so I didn't expect to go to it. But I think for the other guys, it's obviously annoying to sit at home when you want to be there.

 This is your first event as a full member of Astralis. Joining this organization is always a big deal for any Danish player. Did you consider any other options, or in your mind was it just Astralis from day one? Because I remember that when you talked to BanKs on that podcast, you said everything was still in a bit of a limbo at the time.

 I had some offers both after I got benched and also in the winter break. But I never really thought anything was the perfect fit for me. So I just had a lot of patience and waited for the right opportunity, and I think Astralis was the right opportunity. As soon as I got it, I kind of knew, and then I just got that confirmed in Astana basically.

I didn't really get any other offers besides Astralis' before I signed because I think most teams start to do that after the Major and I signed before that was over. In a way, it was Astralis all the way, but I think it's a good fit.

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Astralis announce HooXi signing

It's now been almost a month since you joined the team on a permanent basis. What have you worked on during that time to try to make sure that the team can play at the same level that you did in Astana and that you can get the most out of every player?

As people could see today, we've swapped a few spots on some maps. Besides that, I just kind of picked up where we left off in Astana, and now I have more more of a vision of long-term progress instead of just having the best result possible in one week. Not too result-based but more like a progressive mindset of looking at what we did in practice and maybe a bit more detailed things instead of the broad picture only.

I was watching HLTV Confirmed the other day, and SPUNJ and jL both said that they expect your team to be in the top 10 this year. Do you agree with that? Do you think the team can continue to move up in the ranks and be in the top 10 before the end of the year?

 Yeah, definitely. I think we have the quality as individuals, and I think that we have very good synergy on the team already, and it will only get better as time goes on. I definitely think we can challenge the big boys. I also think we kind of showed that, even though we lost to Spirit in the final in Astana. I think we gave them a decent fight, and it will only get better from here. I definitely think that's realistic.

Date	Matches
FISSURE Playground 1
16/07/2025	TYLOO 19:00 Astralis	Match

 A lot of people see your team as one of the favorites here, I guess with FURIA and paiN. Do you see yourselves as one of the favorites? How far do you expect to go here

I think, yeah, us, FURIA, Virtus.pro, paiN. Maybe you sprinkle in some GamerLegion and HEROIC. Those are the top six on paper. But it's CS2 and it's the first event after the break. So there's room for a dark horse to do some damage, for sure.

 What about your goals for the rest of the year? Obviously, getting back to the Major is a big one for you guys, but in terms of everything else, have you set any goals?

Again, nothing result-based, but getting to the Major is something that Astralis as an organization wants to do. And it would be nice to lift a trophy of this caliber as a start, something like this tournament we're in right now and then kind of work from there. I think just consistently getting into arenas is something that I would look forward to. That's the reason we play, right? To play in front of the crowd.