Astralis Bench HooXi and jabbi With Immediate Effect

Astralis have removed Rasmus “HooXi” Nielsen and Jakob “jabbi” Nygaard from their active Counter-Strike lineup as the organization prepares to rebuild its roster. Both players remain under contract until the end of the year.

The organization has not announced replacements. Kamil “siuhy” Szkaradek, a former Liquid in-game leader, and Nikita “cmtry” Samolotov, who has been benched by FUT, are reportedly close to joining Astralis. If the deals are completed, cmtry is expected to move from the AWP role to rifling.

Jonas Gundersen, founder and CEO of Astralis parent company Fusion Esports, described the decision as mutual in a post on X.

“Sometimes you need to fully close a chapter in order to create space for something new to grow,” Gundersen wrote. “Astralis is one of the most successful brands in the history of Counter-Strike, championed by an iconic Danish roster that created memories for all our fans that will last a lifetime. A true legacy we will always be proud of. However, it is time to turn the page.”

Gundersen thanked both players for their work and noted that they had recently helped Astralis win its first LAN title since 2019.

HooXi joined Astralis in June 2025 after a period as a stand-in. He replaced Casper “cadiaN” Møller as in-game leader and guided the team to the Stake Ranked Episode 4 title in Barcelona. Astralis also reached the grand finals of PGL Astana 2025, FISSURE Playground 1 and PGL Bucharest 2026.

Jabbi had been with Astralis since November 2023, when he joined from HEROIC alongside Martin “stavn” Lund in a transfer between the Danish organizations.

The Barcelona title moved Astralis into the top 10 of the global Valve Regional Standings. The team is expected to qualify for the Singapore Major based on the latest projections.

Astralis are scheduled to compete at Stake Pulse Beat III on October 12 and are expected to announce their new players before the event.

The listed roster now includes Love “phzy” Smidebrant, Victor “Staehr” Staehr and Gytis “ryu” Glušauskas. Filip “NEO” Kubski is the team’s coach. HooXi and jabbi remain contracted but are no longer part of the active lineup.

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