Astralis’ phzy aims to regain form after rough months

Love “phzy” Smidebrant, Astralis’ primary AWPer, said he wants to regain form after a difficult run that affected his confidence. His comments followed Astralis’ overtime win over paiN in the BLAST Bounty S2 quarter-final, where Smidebrant recorded a 1.27 rating on the deciding map.

Smidebrant acknowledged that criticism from teammates, including remarks from HooXi, had an impact on his play. He admitted the feedback had been intense and made him more reserved in-game. “I like hearing when I make mistakes or stuff like this, that’s the way you improve, right? So I think that’s fine, but yeah, maybe it’s been a bit much,” he said, adding the reaction left him “a little bit too passive, or subconsciously scared.”

Astralis added a psychologist during the off-season and hired coach NEO. Smidebrant credited the coach with contributing both positivity and tactical work during bootcamp, citing specific preparation on Cache after its return to the map pool. “He’s come with a lot of positivity, a lot of good vibes so far,” Smidebrant said.

The player described clear map-dependent differences in his form. Inferno has been a strong map for him. Nuke has posed challenges, particularly on Terrorist side where set rounds and ladder plays can limit an AWPer’s ability to influence mid or ramp. He described Nuke as “a little bit NPC for the AWPer on the T side.”

Analyst MiGHTYMAX is working with the roster to analyse these map trends and suggest adjustments. Smidebrant said the staff is prioritising greater match-to-match consistency and reducing the sudden drops in form that followed good stretches earlier in the season.

Outtakes from TeamSpeak at the Cologne Major showed moments of visible tension. The team has focused in the off-season on managing frustration and improving in-game communication alongside mental resilience work with the psychologist.

On opponent selection for upcoming fixtures, Smidebrant said he would prefer to face Spirit because their default style can create openings for an AWP player. Practical considerations led Astralis to pick MOUZ instead, he noted, citing late finishes and wake-up times: “The Spirit game would be at around 12:00, so we’d probably have to wake up at 8:00 or 9:00… so probably we’ll play MOUZ.”

Smidebrant said he feels hopeful after the BLAST win. He outlined the immediate steps the team is taking-working with a psychologist, integrating the new coach, and using analysts-to try to stabilise individual and team performance as the season continues.