Gla1ve announces retirement from Counter-Strike

Astralis’ iconic in-game leader, Lukas “gla1ve” Rossander, announced on Monday, November 24, that he is retiring from playing Counter-Strike and is transitioning to coaching.

The Dane last played in a professional match during the ESL Pro League Season 22 European qualifier for ENCE in July, before he was moved to the bench and replaced by Rigon “rigoN” Gashi.

A new adventure begins!

After some time away from the server and a chance to reflect on my future, nothing feels more right than to start the next chapter: becoming a head coach.

I truly believe I have something extraordinary to offer in this role.
My deep understanding of the… pic.twitter.com/p2U5w3IK8A

— Lukas Rossander (@gla1ve_cs) November 24, 2025

It marked the end of gla1ve’s 18-month stint with ENCE, whom he joined in November 2023 after leaving Astralis, who had
rebuilt their lineup ahead of the 2024 season.

The 30-year-old started his career in 2010 on Counter-Strike: Source. Over the next few years, gla1ve jumped from team to
team; however, he made a name for himself during his time at Astralis between 2016 and 2023.

Gla1ve signed for Astralis as a replacement for Finn “karrigan” Andersen and helped the Danish squad with their first Major title – ELEAGUE Major Atlanta 2017 – just months into his stint with the team.

It would take Astralis over a year to lift their second Major trophy, at FACEIT Major London. That marked the beginning of an era of Astralis’ dominance for which gla1ve will forever have his name etched in the history books.

Between 2018 and 2020, gla1ve helped Astralis win 16 titles, including three Majors and the ESL Intel Grand Slam, establishing the Danish roster as one of the most dominant in the history of the game.

“What a ride it has been. So many memories, so many victories, and lessons I’ll carry with me forever,” said gla1ve.
“I still get goosebumps thinking about the Majors, the Intel Grand Slam, and everything we built during the golden Astralis era.

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To be part of creating something that special doesn’t happen often. A huge thank you to my incredible teammates and coaches from back then—you made it some of the best years of my life.”

Besides his success with Astralis, gla1ve also earned several personal accolades. He was named the 8th Best Player of the Year in 2018 and won the Intel Extreme Masters Beijing 2019 MVP, averaging the tournament’s highest performance rating (1.48).

Since leaving Astralis in 2023, gla1ve has spent the rest of his career with ENCE, with whom he has not won any S-Tier
tournaments. Some of gla1ve’s most notable accomplishments with the Finnish team include winning Elisa Masters Espoo 2024 and reaching the playoffs at IEM Katowice 2024.

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Towards the end of his stay with ENCE, the Danish captain made the finals of Conquest of Prague 2025 – his final LAN
appearance before announcing retirement.

While gla1ve decided to hang up his mouse and keyboard, he intends to stay involved in the Counter-Strike 2 esports scene as a coach.

He is the third former member of Astralis’ “golden era” roster to retire, after Andreas “Xyp9x” Højsleth in March 2024 and Peter “dupreeh” Rasmussen, who stepped away from the arena in May.