Counter-Strike 2 star Dev1ce leaves Astralis

Astralis has announced that it will be making changes to its Counter-Strike 2 (CS2) roster in its efforts to pursue a new ‘international direction’.

The organisation has shared that it will part ways with Danish pros Nicolai ‘dev1ce‘ Reedtz and Emil ‘Magisk‘ Reif at the turn of the year, and that it will look for potential replacements from the international scene.

In a blog post online, Astralis’ CEO, Jonas Gundersen, stated that Magisk’s contract will end on December 31st, 2025 and that dev1ce has agreed to a transfer for 2026..

“We have long known that Emil would be moving on,” Gundersen added. “And we have also been prepared for Nicolai’s transition, as we have had a good and open dialogue with him about the possibilities.”

Magisk leaves the organisation after first joining back on September 1st, 2025. During his tenure, he has represented Astralis in several Tier-1 events, including ESL Pro League Season 22, PGL Masters Bucharest and Intel Extreme Masters (IEM) Chengdu.

On the other hand, dev1ce departs from the organisation for the second time in his career. The Counter-Strike pro first competed for Astralis back in 2016 after leaving TSM, and competed for the organisation up to 2021 when he moved to Ninjas in Pyjamas. However, dev1ce would return to play for the Danish organisation in 2022.

Throughout his first stint at Astralis, dev1ce achieved many notable accolades. This included winning four Major titles: StarLadder Berlin Major 2019, IEM Katowice Major 2019, FACEIT Major: London 2018 and ELEAGUE Major Atlanta 2017.

“Leaving Astralis once again has not been an easy decision,” dev1ce commented. “For some time now, I have been hungry to try something new, and I am very much looking forward to starting the next chapter.”

Astralis also shared that with the departure comes a new opportunity to start recruiting players on the international stage, no longer limiting themselves to ‘a single market’. This is a major turning point for an organisation that has historically only recruited Danish players.

The roster change follows Astralis’ most recent performance at the 2025 StarLadder Budapest Major. Out of the 32 international teams that participated, the Danish organisation placed 19th after placing within the bottom eight teams of Stage 2.

Throughout the year, Astralis has been a presence at the highest level of competition, yet has struggled to secure a signficant placements. It has competed in events such as BLAST Bounty, IEM Katowice, PGL Bucharest, among many others.

Some of its greatest achievements include placing third in the PGL Clu-Napoca 2025 back in February, taking home $150,000 (~£111,060) in winnings after losing to FaZe Clan 1-2. Additionally, the organisation placed runner-up in PGL Astana 2025, losing 1-3 to Team Spirit in the Grand Finals but earning $93,750 (~£69,375).