Astralis sniper Nicolai “device” Reedtz shared his thoughts on returning to the Danish club and the prospects of the new team. In an interview with HLTV.org, he also spoke about the team’s defeat in the qualifiers for BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023 in CS:GO.
device:”I found it difficult to cope with the defeat at RMR. During that time, I put in maximum effort to work on my game, looked at others and thought about what I could change. The team didn’t fall into depression, but all motivation disappeared. It took us several weeks to find the motivation to move forward again.
Following the Major and not competing in it was a complete letdown. Of course, since we didn’t make it to the Major, we wouldn’t have been able to show good results there. On the other hand, just before the start of the tournament, we beat GamerLegion and Apeks, so we defeated teams that made it to the top 4, right? It annoyed me a little, but what’s done is done, we can’t change the past. We have to look for the motivation to keep playing and ways to develop the team and ourselves.”
Reedtz stated that he decided to return to Astralis because he felt that he had the strength to contribute to the team. At the same time, Device sees the current lineup as a completely new team, separate from the club’s past successes.
device:“I had a feeling that I could contribute a lot to the team as a young player and to the Astralis organization as a whole. It seemed to me that I was still good enough in terms of individual play and could return to competition. This is very important for me, I don’t want to be a burden for the team.
It seems like I’ve been playing Counter-Strike for as long as I can remember. I’ve always been good at this game, and I’ve never stopped thinking that if I’m no longer strong enough, I won’t have the desire to compete. Besides, I’m not tired of winning yet. The last time it happened was so long ago that I don’t even think about that period of my career anymore. I’m just trying to live in the present and not compare it to the past.
I have a chance to create something new with the team. Especially now, with the release of CS2, we have a unique opportunity to write our own story and no longer hear at every tournament, ‘This is no longer the same Astralis.’ I think each of us wants to be a part of the new Astralis with our own story. Although I’m proud of the four stars on my jersey, they don’t matter much now.”
Device returned to Astralis in October 2022 after a period of performances with Ninjas in Pyjamas and a long period of inactivity. With him, the team took 4th-6th place at BLAST Premier: Spring Groups 2023, reached the final of the Brazy Party, and entered the top 6 at IEM Dallas 2023. However, the lineup did not qualify for the recent CS:GO Major, finishing 12th-14th in the RMR tournament.
