Astralis replace CadiaN with HooXi ahead of PGL Astana 2025

Astralis announced an unexpected roster change on Tuesday, benching Casper “cadiaN” Møller in favour of Rasmus “HooXi” Nielsen, who joins the Danish Counter-Strike 2 team as in-game leader.

Astralis have struggled to find traction in the competitive scene since the turn of the year, dropping in the world rankings from No.9 in February to No.15 as of the recent update.

The recent failed run through BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025 European qualifier was the final straw, leading to a significant roster change ahead of PGL Astana 2025.

Thank you Casper “cadiaN” Møller and Kasper Straube.

Today, we part ways with Sports Director Kasper Straube and In-Game Leader Casper “cadiaN” Møller. Rasmus “HooXi” Nielsen will join the team as In-Game Leader for the upcoming PGL Astana tournament.

Jakob Hansen, CEO:

"As… pic.twitter.com/TGcWBt5YX4

— Astralis Counter-Strike (@AstralisCS) April 22, 2025

CadiaN joined Astralis in September 2024 after spending the previous three months on Team Liquid’s bench.

The shock move was viewed as the change Astralis needed to re-emerge as one of the world’s strongest CS2 squads; however, success has proved hard to come by for the Danish outfit.

Under CadiaN, Astralis have not won a single LAN event, and their most notable tournament results include a semifinal run at BLAST Premier World Final 2024 and a bronze medal from PGL Cluj-Napoca 2025 in February.

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The Danish veteran has also struggled individually, averaging a poor 0.86 performance rating during his seven-month tenure. In contrast, CadiaN averaged a 1.03 rating with Liquid and 1.09 throughout his second stint with HEROIC.

HooXi, meanwhile, makes his return to the competitive Counter-Strike scene for the first time since June 2024, when he featured in the BLAST Premier Spring Final as part of the G2 Esports roster.

The Dane was released from G2 at the end of 2024 and has since not appeared in a single official match.

HooXi will make his debut for Astralis in just over two weeks at PGL Astana 2025, set to kick off on May 10.

In addition to replacing their in-game leader, Astralis also waved goodbye to their sports director, Kasper Straube, who had held the position since 2023.

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