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Astralis have announced the addition of up-and-coming talent Christian “Buzz” Andersen to their Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. The signing of the 19-year old rifler rounds up the all-Danish roster ahead of the 2023 season.
The European esports franchise took to their official website to announce the completion of their roster while also welcoming Buzz to the fold.
“Astralis presents 19-year-old Christian “Buzz” Andersen as a new player on the main roster,” the franchise announced.
“Buzz” comes from Danish Masonic, who just won the Danish POWER League after beating Astralis Talent in the Grand Final. He will replace Mikkel “MistR” Thomsen, who rejoins the talent team after standing in on the main team for two months.”
Buzz will be replacing Mikkel “MistR” Thomsen, who has been acting as a stand-in for the main team since September. The 18-year old member of the Astralis youth academy, Astralis Talent, will return to the sub-franchise and will see his shoes filled by a newcomer to the top-tier CS:GO scene. Prior to joining Astralis, Buzz had previously played for teams such as AGF Esport, Los Reyes, and most recently MASONIC.
The confirmation of Astralis’ signing of Buzz comes after an earlier report from Dec. 19 mentioned that Astralis had tried to bring in Rasmus “Sjuush” Beck and Victor “Staehr” Staehr from Heroic and Sprout, respectively, but were unsuccessful. As such, the franchise made the decision of signing the Danish young player.
The newly recruited head coach Peter “casle” Ardenskjold commented on the addition of Buzz to the roster. He stated that he was looking forward to working with the new roster.
“We took Mikkel “MistR” in as a stand-in and he has shown us a lot of his potential. I am sure, he will continue his development, and he is a player who will for sure be playing on a higher level at some point. It is a positive story and part of the cohesion between talents and the first team, we will be working with in the future,” casle said.
“In relation to the specific role on the team, we have some very specific requirements and have kept an eye on “Buzz” for a long time. He has some extraordinary qualities, and the deeper we got into the work with the new set-up, the clearer it became to me that “Buzz” not only has a lot of the energy and attitude we are looking for he also has the qualities to give the team a real boost. I believe Buzz will make a real difference.
“The work with the organization around the team continues in the management, but since I started, we have already brought in both dev1ce and Buzz, and although you can’t compare, they are both dream signings for me. We now have the roster in place, and I am really looking forward to working with the team in the new set-up, which is currently being finalized, says the coach.”
According to HLTV, over the past three months, Buzz has achieved impressive stats with a 1.10 rating, a 2.0 impact, and an average damage of 80.9.
After a disappointing second half of the 2022 season, the addition of Buzz completes the rebuilding process of Astralis. The roster also saw the comeback of Nicolai “device” Reedtz and the promotion of casle to the position of the main coach. This marks the first time in the organization’s history that they have missed a Major event.
Buzz reacted to his signing, expressing his happiness in being an Astralis player. To him, his signing was a dream come true, having to play alongside some of the best players in the league including dev1ce and Lukas “gla1ve” Rossande.
“I am very happy and really proud. I have studied and looked up to the players on the Astralis team for several years, and in many ways, that has shaped me as a CS player. The fact that I can now call myself an Astralis player on a team with several of those players and in the role I’ve always imagined is just crazy cool,” Buzz said.
“I have had several conversations with casle and Kasper Hvidt over the past few months. They know the player they’re getting, and I know I’m joining a team and an organization ready to invest in what it takes to get back on top.
“When I pulled the red shirt over my head for the first time for our photo shoot, it was a very special feeling, and I knew how much this meant. Playing with the star on the chest does not get bigger for a Danish CS player, and I will do everything I can to help the team and make the fans proud. There is so much to be proud of in Astralis, but we have lacked the results, and I hope I can help bring them back.”
