Astralis make siuhy and cmtry signings official, then top their Pulse Beat III group in the new lineup's debut

Astralis have confirmed the signings of Kamil "siuhy" Szkaradek and Nikita "cmtry" Samolotov. The pair replace Rasmus "HooXi" Nielsen and Jakob "jabbi" Nygaard, who were benched earlier this month. The new lineup's first matches went well. On Wednesday, 14 October, Astralis beat Sashi and HOTU to top Group C at Pulse Beat III and reach the playoffs.

The deal

The Danish club announced the two signings on 13 October, after benching HooXi and jabbi earlier in the month. Reports at the time said the two Danes could not agree terms when their contracts were renegotiated. Astralis have not said whether the new deals are loans or permanent transfers.

siuhy became a free agent on 2 October after a little over a year with Team Liquid. Before that, the Polish player had his best results with GamerLegion and MOUZ. cmtry comes from FUT, which benched him at the start of October to make room for SunPayus. He played as an AWPer at FUT but will play as a rifler at Astralis. He has not played that role at tier-one level before.

The lineup is now:

• Love "phzy" Smidebrant (Sweden)
• Victor "Staehr" Staehr (Denmark)
• Gytis "ryu" Glušauskas (Lithuania)
• Nikita "cmtry" Samolotov (Ukraine)
• Kamil "siuhy" Szkaradek (Poland)
• Coach: Filip "NEO" Kubski (Poland)

That leaves Staehr as the only Dane in the starting five, which is a big change for a club built on Danish players. The day before the announcement, the fan club Danish Corner said it would stop being an official Astralis fan club because of the roster decisions.

Winning start at Pulse Beat III

The rebuilt team had no time to settle before its first matches. In the opening match, Astralis beat Sashi 2-0. Nuke went to overtime and finished 16-13, and Astralis then won Mirage 13-9.

The winners' match against HOTU was closer. HOTU won Dust2 13-6. Astralis took Ancient 16-14 in overtime and then won Nuke 13-2 to take the series 2-1.

fnatic took the second playoff place from Group C. They lost their opener 2-0 to HOTU, then beat Sashi 2-0 and won the decider against HOTU 2-0. Sashi and HOTU are out.

The playoffs are single elimination. They begin on Friday, 16 October, and Astralis' quarter-final opponent will be the second-placed team from Group D. ENVY, MIBR, HEROIC and one other team play that group on 15 October. Ninjas in Pyjamas, Sangal, Liquid and 100 Thieves also reached the playoffs.

What it means for Singapore

Before the reshuffle, Astralis had already won an invite to the PGL Major Singapore, according to HLTV's invite projections. This lineup is expected to play the Major. Commentators have called the move a short-term fix rather than a finished rebuild. Even so, a strong group stage gives Astralis useful matches together before the 2 November invite cut-off. Several teams below them are still fighting for places.

For Southeast Asian fans, the Major will be played in Singapore, close to home and in the same time zone as Malaysia.

Key takeaways

• Astralis officially signed siuhy and cmtry on 13 October to replace the benched HooXi and jabbi.
• cmtry moves from AWPer at FUT to rifler at Astralis. siuhy joins after leaving Liquid.
• The new lineup beat Sashi 2-0 and HOTU 2-1 to top Group C at Pulse Beat III.
• fnatic also advanced from the group. Astralis play their quarter-final on Friday, 16 October.

FAQ

Who did Astralis sign? Polish player siuhy, a free agent after leaving Team Liquid, and Ukrainian cmtry, who was on FUT's bench.

Who did they replace? Danish players HooXi and jabbi, whom Astralis benched earlier in October.

Are Astralis going to the PGL Major Singapore? HLTV's projections show Astralis have earned an invite, and reports say this roster is expected to play there.

Sources: HLTV, Insider Gaming, Dust2.us, Skin.Club News