The Best of All F@*king Time: The Story of Astralis

[Music] obviously this is a team that's notoriously been called chokers in a developmental fortitude but it just keeps happening right it's always in the semifinals there's got to be this mental block but it's so weird because even it's not it's not even like apparent to themselves you know the look on device's face he's had a shocker of a game to finish things off there the major 16 plays five it's a disappointing way to end it [Music] yeah it's quite a historic moment right yeah astralis not making into the legend status and obviously north dropping out as well and questions of whether this team will stay around [Music] they just joined the roster a few months ago bring more firepower to the squad he's certainly done that and all under magisk now in the 1v2 the bomb now down as well for phase and oh my god matches i don't know who can challenge them anymore this is just a look for some people it's a problem for others it's basking in the greatness that can't possibly be real they're the best team in counter-strike history in my opinion this is the most competitive era it doesn't matter none of these teams can match astralis to take down alex another push untouchable undisputed season seven chicago and now for the first time ever at home season eight i've strolled into the champions of anthem and for the first time in history the best of all time for years before cs go's release the danish counter-strike scene was rightly revered as one of the titans of 1.6 competition players like trace zonic and sunday built a legacy of cs excellence but when global offensive released denmark took a while to find its footing and the world waited to see when or maybe if danish teams would again return to the podium consistently in december of 2015 it looked like denmark might actually get their answer after team solomid's entire cs go roster decided to simultaneously quit and form their own independent team device dupree zipix cajunbee and kerrigan along with team dignitas zonic as coach came together under the banner of team question mark a placeholder organization that would later be converted into astralis in january of 2016. device and dupreeh had played together since 2013 while sonic's time as a 1.6 pro left him well equipped for the struggles to come the exact details of what led to the split have never been fully ironed out both sides famously stated different reasons for the split what's abundantly clear however was that tsm wanted to run the team one way and the players wanted to run it differently we we wanted to see if our own organization could match what we could get from other organizations and it basically could it makes more it makes more meaning for us to play under astralis now than it would be to play on another brand once the deans were able to form the team they dreamed of astralis first year showed flashes of promise that said despite having an incredibly talented roster with great chemistry on paper astralis had a problem they couldn't stop choking at high level events and now zip nicks with it all on his shoulders or it's gonna be fanatic through to those finals bomb is planted and zipnicks now walking in catches out flusher gets pressured from jw and there it is fnatic get out of those semis and get themselves into the finals astralis sadly floundering under a fanatic brought into this game and by joking we mean really joking time and time again astralis would take it to perennial powerhouses like sk gaming or nip until suddenly sometimes after a pause was called or the map changed the team's luck would flatline i know the astronauts guys pretty well like couple of them are good friends of mine i'm not even sure if they're completely clued up on the reasons why what happens happens you've talked to device many times right it's like if you ask them like i've interviewed kerrigan as well and asked them specifically about it they hate talking about it they're calling it choking right but it just keeps happening right it's always at the semi-finals it's gotta be this mental block but it's so weird because even it's not it's not even like apparent to themselves you know this phenomenon which haunted them throughout the course of 2016 would come to be known as the astralis curse that's cajun as well gonna fall and i dare say it it's over navier in the grand final the second straight time just to reiterate astralis looking some of the best form we've ever seen the men coming into this final semi-final but at esl one cologne in july the year's final major they were facing much more than just a curse aside from general nerves astralis was dealing with a roster shakeup kirby who joined the team only a few weeks prior after being traded by dignitas for cajun b wasn't able to play and neither could dupree after coming down with appendicitis astralis called on glaive one of device's childhood best friends and sonic the team's coach to fill the two spots respectively definitely not ideal this is a horrible situation you feel like astrology can't get a break right now everything they turn up to it seems like there's something that goes horribly wrong when they do well in the groups their counterparts just fall apart and they actually have a horrible run to the actual playoffs but today is a very special occasion the fact that we're missing dupree as well when they're star players shout out to peter we love you great personality in the scene hope you're getting better but this is a massive loss for them going into this one despite being down two of their core players astralis fought fiercely to get to the quarterfinals where they played virtus pro at times looking like they had what it took to make a run at the title it's gonna be a tough retake they do have to get on tas but it's sonic again joined by glaive glade with three already this is beautiful work from astralis keeping four up and kerrigan closes out astralis kick this one off with a bang already a bomb plant a hell of a lot of kills as well to boot they're 15 seconds sonic's found him it's down to snacks in the 1v2 here this could be australis going 13-13 they might just be lucky for australis at this point here we go stacks goes down there's clay for the kill and astralis are back in this game and what looked like a disastrous start has turned into something incredible astralis will not go down without a fight zipmix gets that first kill and just falls back and fakes him right into the crosshair of the vice this is beautifully done a second kill it's all down to neo and he gets nothing 11-4 for astralis this is a masterful first half coming through here from astralis these guys are looking exceedingly solid here but even with their best efforts better still than most expected astralis couldn't stop what seemed at this point inevitable there's snacks coming in with one of his left siblings in a horrible situation bialy's already on the hunt and you can see them looking for it and the spray comes in ziplex knows his days are numbered but he's still fighting the good fight but if that's the end pascha does it for brothers pro and ladies and gentlemen that is vp putting themselves into the semi-finals after a tough match against the straws who fought with sheer heart great determination anything you could think of they put it up there i think that today we should talk about different team we should talk about astralis and how much resilience they showed playing with two standings i think that we should all clap for them now guys [Applause] neither 2016 major went the way astralis had wanted but the second major at cologne had at least offered somewhat of a glimmer of hope and with that astralis decided they needed to reorganize in october of that year kerrigan left for phase which gave astralis the chance to sign glaive for real with the vice a multi-talented monster of a player and glaive becoming one of csgo's best up-and-coming igls at the helm astralis seemed to have its strongest roster yet but they still needed to get their mentality right the pressure of being on stage of competing in front of so many people and trying to prove that they belonged among the game's best was clearly affecting astralis ability to perform at the highest level so management decided to try something practically unheard of in esports at that time the organization which was quickly becoming a well-oiled machine compared to the traditional bunch of friends on stage cs powerhouses hired a sports psychologist i have said that while glaive has been important the introduction of a sports psychologist for australis also very important with their history of choking team australis is a dream client for me first we started off working with the team spirit then of course i do individual work with them because all of them have their strengths and weaknesses as players it's always day by day you kind of like see in what kind of shape the boys are in how they're doing they're constantly developing so you have to keep adapting to that as well so it's all days are different with a more holistic approach to the physical and mental health of its players astralis began to excel rapidly winning first at ecs season 2 in december of 2016 and then after a legacy of disappointments on the major stage they finally did it it's the team that struggled in groups but showed true form against liquid they've never looked stronger since adding glaive this is astralis obviously this is a team that's notoriously been called chokers and they don't have that mental fortitude do you think on that evidence we're seeing a change there they either lose very very narrowly or they smash people yeah so astralis pretty much they're on a course to go to the final and so if you're a fanatic you can say yeah maybe they can choke but you have to be able to put them in that position before that can even happen device alone kirby's not there he's got the high hp but he hasn't up he's missed shots that could have crossed him it does what a shot from crims fanatic in the most magical way or pulling it back but look at kirby right time right place astralis overcoming all odds and the curse that has always been their problem it's crims down it's one to go it's only dennis remaining desperate with a bomb and 15 hp caught out blinded up and here he's got him for the first time for the danish side they'll find themselves in a major final and that is a huge huge relief but they're not done these guys mean business they knew coming into this tournament they had one goal they're the favorites for a reason one versus two he has to clutch this australis mentally they need this to get back into the game he sees the gun barrel headshot on one now comes pasha next in line dupree going forward doing the damage and he gets it one versus two this is incredible are we going to see it are straw is going to break the curse are they going to win their first major the first time they're in the finals and their first title will find out because the action's on and gary opens it up takes down bialy already here's the start four more kills and they will have made it the full distance snacks in an uncomfortable position he goes down with the max 70 car make it happen finally pasha coming in with a refract but he's down the bomb has been picked up by the three they get the spray neo takes one and turns it down major championship 16-14 unbelievable for the first time ever astralis had won a major and not just that but their final is considered one of the greatest cs matches ever played despite the win including another first place win over phase at iem katowice astralis slowly fell into old habits throughout the rest of the year astralis resumed its routine of placing anywhere from seventh to second place at every competition on the board in november device revealed that he had a hiatal hernia and would be on medical leave for at least a month for all intents and purposes astralis was done for 2017. yet device was still looking forwards motivated by his medical leave device pushed to have even more self-care amenities provided to the players including personal trainers and chefs to keep them both physically and mentally healthy the final piece of the puzzle came when kirby unexpectedly and without announcement left astralis to join north in february of 2018 something that teammates like device felt was a bit of a betrayal so yeah it's a bit sad but i hope that he does well and when i see him at events we say hi and i still feel like we can get a good relationship out of it but it's just yeah it's just sad to feel betrayed in some way regardless of how hurt they were by his sudden departure astralis needed a replacement for kierby and in a surprise move named magisk as their new fifth this officially marked the beginning of a new era for the team what they chokingly called astralis 2.0 and at that moment they assembled a lineup of the five danes that would go on to become counter-strike deities this new astralis took 2018 by storm beginning with their first place sweep at the april 2018 dreamhack masters in marseilles in the grand final match-up against na'vi they've been hunting for for so long may just joined the roster a few months ago to try and bring more firepower into the squad he's certainly done that they're looking well-rounded i think they're in the conversation for the best team in the world of this performance they just gonna find that nade it could take edward down he's on nine health they're gonna be able to get the bomb they have enough time to rotate but they're not gonna go for it it comes from he's not gonna get the spray on point but blaze could through the smoke he's trying to find a way to kill simple who simply will not fall and i'm going to be pushing this man and he's got the kill astronomers are victorious but this is the main storyline ladies and gentlemen your champions are dreamhack masters marseille it's astralis [Applause] including that win astralis proceeded to win four out of the next seven premier championships they played in before the face at london major in september of 2018. there they sprinted to the grand finals where they would once again square off with navi in a best-of-three matchup and once again sweep the team with ease and you chase after him you run straight into another one who gets a free kill you just don't know and here he is again grenades to follow up as well two players left now between astralis and the first map and they go simple as well three kills for device and edward can't do anything about it either that is firmly very firmly taken by australis simple gets himself a head shot and that's not the only way in eight seconds to play though they have to plant the bomb can't they find their way onto a plant flamie it's gonna be close but no one is denied and there's no chance here in the 1v3 for electronic as australia's close it down flamey now with the 570's baiting the play on the short b is red touching the bomb are going to peak holding it now and there is it it's just out of flame it's not going to happen astralis [Applause] a team that is surely a cop above everybody else every single facet of their gameplay from practice rooms to the grand final stage is perfect james and with that win they became more than a team that broke their curse they showed everyone that this was their era of counter-strike definitely the best team in the world no argument about that the preparation the commitment the way that this team approached the game is unrivaled we have not seen this before in counter-strike history as they accumulated more and more wins it became clear they were the new kings of cs go and they solidified their grip on that title when they won esl pro league season 8 and secured the crown jewel of cs go cash prizes the intel grand slam nitro has not turned up in this final map and astralis are so close to this point one kill's gonna secure it and that's it the grand slam is esl broly season 8 as well back-to-back ecs back-to-back pro league marsai season seven chicago and now for the first time ever at home seems [Applause] they accomplished everything a cs team could dream of in 2018 but it felt like they didn't even flinch two majors wasn't good enough for this team they were poised to drive the final nail into the coffin of all their haters first by winning iem katowice and becoming the second team in cs go history to claim three majors surely 2019 can't possibly be as good as 2018 but there's no signs of them slowing down not for dupree either he'll get two and walk in the smoke glaive he'll only punish one but it's just ariel will find and it's done [Applause] they had one goal that's it that's all they wanted back to back and they've done it now but you can't mess with greatness you can't mess with history and these guys are writing it at every event intel extreme masters champions majors back-to-back australis again [Applause] at katowice dupree whose father had passed away just days before was overtaken with emotion by the magnitude of what he and his teammates had accomplished thank you very much alex it's an emotional stage right now i'm with dupreeh who i can see has got tears in his eyes emotionally for you right now used to be going through absolutely everything yeah it's uh it's very unreal um i came into this tournament with my father yeah he passed away just before i got here and his last wish was that i i went here and so i really want to dedicate this win to my father mate come on and then at starladder berlin in 2019 they made a statement that will echo in the catacombs of counter-strike history for years to come and he doesn't know where to look doesn't know what to pay attention to this shot and he's gone and astralis delivering the final uppercut to knock out avangar you can't miss anything if you want to even have a chance here sanji rushing up through upper dom dupree is ready to take him down and now there's no more retake from that side it's buster and adren two versus four an impossible retake by any standard device will take down buster leaving a trend in upon versus four and ladies and gentlemen [Applause] in a row they have just re-established dominance forget the hiccup that was team liquid astralis seems back in a big way ladies and gentlemen give it up once again for your champions astronauts they won their fourth major three of them in a row and became the most decorated team of all time the single greatest counter-strike roster to ever live yet despite their success the latter part of 2019 wasn't all sunshine and roses for astralis first team liquid stole a bit of astralis's spotlight with their runaway win of the intel grand slam in record time the org was also accused of having a conflict of interest with tournament organizer blast allegations were made that astralis was showing favoritism towards blast competitions by choosing to selectively attend blast events over others refresh entertainment is a privately held danish company that manages and operates the best cs go team in the world that's astralis they also own and operate the blast pro series of events now so far this year astralis have been to all two blast events and they've skipped out on three premier tournaments that are not blast now this has prompted a social media conversation along these lines is this a conflict of interest and what bearing might it have on the future of competitive cs go the community were beginning to become critical of the straws for picking and choosing the events they'd attend but that sentiment quickly dissolved as covet 19 ousted lands for the foreseeable future the now called online era had started and during this time both glaive and zip x took time off due to burnout and stress for months speculation brewed over whether the two were gone for good or if astralis was going to break up but both had returned to the game by october but i know that clave was saying how he had some time away and now he feels like really fired up while astralis had spent much of the year utilizing sub and players like essetag and yugi in place of its regulars it wasn't particularly unusual for them for a while the team often had a sixth man on call a tactic that has since been heavily employed during the pandemic by other teams that faced similar issues indeed it's been the storyline of the day are we going to see those mid-match substitutions coming out from vitality and indeed we are misuta it's going to be coming out rivera is going to be coming in next for dusty astralis fans held out hope that this was simply a reality of cheering for the org they'd been committed to taking their foot off the gas to allow their players breaks but surely when land's returned the five danes would be back competing for an unprecedented fifth major or so we all thought and this is the case ladies and gentlemen nip have completed uh the device signing so it's resplobski hamper ctr and device who thought that was ever going to happen i don't know really where we start right now striker do we talk about like the fallout of like what this means in the scheme of things what what are we we kind of got to let this soak in for a second exactly like i feel like we need like 40 minutes just to kind of like let this down on me i guess i still feel like i'm dreaming i have no idea why this happened the era of astralis as we knew it was over since the announcement device's former teammates have said that they understand his decision but admitted that they were caught off guard by it the first thing i said to him was that it's okay i understand i think that's what i said to him the way he presented it but then afterwards i was i was obviously shocked and i was like what is actually going on it's sad obviously we've been i've been disappointed sad angry both with the virus and the whole situation even though there are some things that i don't understand maybe we could have worked it out we have still been through so much that it doesn't change my my view on him as a person uh he will still be a dear dear friend of the team for years device had served as not only an incredible in-game asset but also a beacon of clarity hope and optimism for the team he was the glue that held things together and tearing that band-aid off has been painful for what's now left of astralis it will be hard for slave to to create a new system it will require that the pre-making subtext is is also on board on this and then i think they can do it they need to like don't go into this oh it always work with device these these things they need to reset and like build it up from zero again that's my guess because device was yeah was pretty much the best player in the world for for three or four years in my opinion despite some lightly hurt feelings astralis have been loud in their support and appreciation for device and everything he has contributed to the team uh well obviously nikolai i know that you have you have made up your decision and i respect you fully and i'm i'm gonna start crying now because it's actually quite emotional um how do you put it out i mean i respect everything you've done and what we've been through and yeah i mean i wish you the best going forward i'm gonna try and do my best to fulfill your shoes um but we'll see where everything is goes from there and i hope we'll see you at other events and we've already talked about this and i appreciate everything with the vice gone a gaping hole has been left in astralis not just because the world's greatest cs go team lost its star player but also because he was the team's leader and guiding light during its darkest hours all of that aside astralis doesn't actually have to prove anything to anyone they've already done what no other team could do four major wins the first intel grand slam even if they disband next month or simply never secure another major again they're already the greatest of all time counter-strike is a beautiful timeless game and what these five danes did will echo through the minds of every new generation of fraggers for years to come and no matter what the future holds everyone will know that astralis truly shot to the stars [Music] is [Music] [Music] [Music] thanks for watching if you want more content like this hit the sub button and ring that notification bell for unique bite size videos you won't find anywhere else hit up our instagram twitter and facebook pages [Music]

Channel: theScore esports

Views: 1,121,770

Keywords: esports, gaming, theScoreesports, thescore, astralis, astralis curse, astralis vs, dev1ce, dev1ce leaving astralis, dev1ce cs go, karrigan astralis, karrigan, gla1ve igl, gla1ve csgo, magisk csgo, magisk, gla1ve, dupreeh father, dupreeh, dupreeh csgo, xyp9x, xyp9x csgo, to the stars astralis, zonic, kjaerbye, story of astralis, thescore story of, counter strike, counter strike global offensive, global offensive, danish csgo, astralis csgo story, astralis csgo roster, tsm csgo, denmark

Id: 5UmlbYzI9PY

Length: 27min 28sec (1648 seconds)

Published: Sat Jun 26 2021