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Homecoming of the King: Dev1ce returns to competitive play with Astralis
In the game Counter Strike Global Offensive, very few teams can call themselves the greatest team in the world, and one team which is definitely on the top of the list is Astralis. The Danish team is the only team in CSGO to boast a whopping three majors, out of which three were back-to-back. The forefront of this great dynasty was "King Devve", i.e. Nikolai "Dev1ce" Reedtz. Dev1ce and Astralis won four majors and are considered among the greatest Esports dynasties.
The legacy of Dev1ce:
Dev1ce started his CS career with CS Source. Playing for Copenhagen Flames, He switched to CSGO and, in 2013, met his long-time teammates Xyp9x and Dupreeh. The trio moved from roster to roster, and with CajunB, Karrigan, and CS Legend, Zonic became the Astralis.
Astralis made a strong run in the first major they attended but choked in the semifinals against the winner, Envy. The team traded CajunB for Kjaebye, and Gla1ve replaced Karrigan.
The new roster made a strong run winning the 2017 Atlanta Major. Soon tragedy struck, and Dev1ce went on medical leave, returning in time for the 2018 Boston Major. The team struggled and bailed out of the major with a 12th-14th finish.
In a shocking move, Kjaerbye left Astralis for the North. The team brought in Magisk as a replacement. This roster went on to become a dynasty, a roster which made CS what it is today.
Dev1ce and Astralis completely changed CSGO. There is no single team in CSGO which has affected the meta as much as Astralis did. With Magisk in the roster, Astralis went on to win the second major of 2018 and both majors of 2019. In these two years, Astralis were untouchable. Dev1ce was always a top-three player, and he had only gotten better.
While others struggled to make plays, Dev1ce was always consistent, calm and cool, always making the right decisions. This consistency garnered him a whopping 19 MVPs, making the HLTV top 20 eight times and the top five six times.
The hiatus and the comeback:
In 2020, Astralis players were burnt out and took breaks. Dev1ce was still performing, but the team looked shaky. In 2021, he decided to switch to Ninjas in Pyjamas due to personal reasons, and the farewell was emotional, especially for Dupreeh and Xyp9x, as the trio played together since 2014.
[youtube url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKoRJ5sTI6A"]
Dev1ce performed well on NiP but suffered from Mental health issues, and the issues only got bigger. He decided to take a step back from the team.
[twitter url="https://twitter.com/dev1ce/status/1473070163419357190"]
The hiatus only got longer, and the player was MIA for a year. Soon, rumours of him coming back to Astralis started popping up. On 22nd October 2022, Dev1ce finally returned home. Astralis made a video for the return of their King.
[twitter url="https://twitter.com/AstralisCS/status/1585552433551491073"]
Dev1ce decided to wait before making a competitive debut, and finally, yesterday, we saw him taking his throne. At CCT Europe, Dev1ce re-debuted with Astralis. In a BO3, he ended his first map after returning with a stat line of 32/14/7 K/D/A. Astralis defeated Tricked Esports 16-14, 16-8 in two maps, with Dev1ce leading the scoreboard with 57/26/10 K/D/A with an Impact rating of 1.71. A return performance fit of a King.
Dev1ce and Astralis will play again today, and the team has ways to go before coming for the top spot. But the opening match was surely a statement by Dev1ce, Notifying everyone that he is back and coming for his Throne as the best.
Image Credits: Turtle Entertainment
