NEO: ‘No hard feelings’ after FaZe exit, joins Astralis

Filip ‘NEO’ Kubski ended a nearly three-year stint as FaZe’s coach in March and signed with Danish organisation Astralis two weeks ago. He will lead Astralis at his first LAN event as head coach.

NEO said he understands why FaZe replaced their coach after a period of inconsistent results. He described the change as part of the competitive cycle, added he holds no grudges and called the experience a lesson to take forward.

At Astralis, NEO spent time at a recent bootcamp getting to know the players and their systems. He described the early environment as refreshing and said the squad shows potential, while warning that there is still substantial work to complete before results stabilise.

A key difference for NEO is working with Rasmus ‘HooXi’ Nielsen as in-game leader. NEO has previously worked closely with Finn ‘karrigan’ Andersen and said HooXi uses different methods. He said he is learning how to adapt his coaching approach to fit HooXi’s style.

Astralis’ results since NEO’s arrival have been mixed. The team had a strong run at the Bounty event and qualified for LAN, but failed to advance from the StarSeries qualifier. NEO pointed out many of those matches were online and said offline play at LAN will provide a clearer assessment of the team’s progress.

NEO also commented on the return of the map Cache to the pool. He noted CS2 changes such as a new skybox and the ability to break smokes with grenades, but said much of the macro play is familiar. He believes his experience on the map gives him ideas for positioning and executing specific strategies.

Astralis enter the LAN as a top seed after several higher-ranked teams were eliminated in online stages. NEO said seeding does not change the immediate task: the team must play well, improve consistency and collect VCT Regional Standings points. He stated the focus is on stabilising results and continuing to work with the roster.