Bubzkji reflects on Astralis stint: \u201cThings didn\u2019t pan out the way I wanted or imagined\u201d AstralisLucas \u2018Bubzkji\u2019 Andersen sat down with Dexerto to discuss his departure from Astralis and his future plans in the CS:GO scene. Perhaps nothing better sums up Bubzkji\u2019s experience at Astralis than a 12-character tweet posted on April 9, 2021. \u201c#freebubzkji\u201d, read the tweet from Nikolaj Nyholm, Astralis\u2019 founder and chairman of the board, in the aftermath of the team\u2019s quarter-final exit from ESL Pro League Season 13 after a defeat against FURIA. Bubzkji watched that match from the sidelines \u2013 a recurring theme during his 18-month tenure with Astralis, which will come to a close on January 31. He has reached an agreement with the organization to terminate his contract early and explore free agency, though it\u2019s unclear \u2013 as the tournament season begins and most rosters are locked \u2013 when exactly he will take to the servers again. Bubzkji joined Astralis at a time when he was one of the hottest commodities in the CS:GO scene, but he leaves the team a very different man, with his stock at a low point. How did it all go so wrong? Reaching the top Bubzkji was unveiled by Astralis on July 31, 2020, in a transfer from MAD Lions for an undisclosed fee. It seemed like a natural move for the then 22-year-old, who had enjoyed a meteoric rise to prominence in the previous 12 months while playing for Tricked and MAD Lions. For most Danish CS:GO players, representing Astralis is the ultimate goal. The Danish organization set a new standard of excellence with its four-time Major-winning lineup, and fostered a large and devoted fanbase in Denmark. When he got the call from Astralis, Bubzkji knew that the offer could turn out to be a poisoned chalice. The Danish team were in the middle of the worst crisis in their history, with Lukas \u2019gla1ve\u2019 Rossander and Andreas \u2018Xyp9x\u2019 H\u00f8jsleth both away on leave after showing symptoms of burnout. Results were underwhelming, and there was no telling when \u2013 or if \u2013 the Astralis of old would come back. Still, he seized the opportunity with both hands. \u201cI was contacted by multiple teams back then, but I went with my gut feeling and joined Astralis,\u201d he told Dexerto. \u201cI was in talks with [head coach] zonic and [director of sports] Kasper Hvidt before joining. \u201cI felt that I had the level so I took the chance, even though I knew there was a chance that I could get benched when gla1ve and Xyp9x returned.\u201d Soon it became clear that Bubzkji would not be set up to succeed at Astralis. An aggressive lurker and entry-fragger by nature, he was put in more supportive roles and had to adapt on the fly, all the while coming to terms with the pressure that came with playing for Astralis. What\u2019s more, the team was at the time led by Emil \u2018Magisk\u2019 Reif, who was grappling with in-game leader responsibilities in gla1ve\u2019s absence. Bubzkji\u2019s numbers plummeted. After featuring in all of Astralis\u2019 matches in ESL One Cologne 2020, Bubzkji saw his position come under threat when gla1ve returned from leave. All it took was one defeat \u2014 a 0-2 loss to Complexity \u2014 for Bubzkji to be pushed to the fringe. He was reduced to a bit-part role for the rest of the year, featuring only on Nuke in place of Xyp9x, who reclaimed a regular starting role following Patrick \u2018es3tag\u2019 Hansen\u2019s transfer to Cloud9. Back then, he was able to have some fun at his own expense, taking a light-hearted view of his situation. Dream shattered Bubzkji became a regular feature on Astralis again following the shock transfer of Nicolai \u2018dev1ce\u2019 Reedtz to NIP in April 2021. His numbers slightly improved, especially on LAN, where he played an important role in the team\u2019s semi-final appearance at IEM Cologne and the fourth-place finish at IEM Fall \u2014 sealing Astralis\u2019 spot at PGL Major Stockholm. Read more: Best CS:GO players of 2021 – And then came the bombshell: Bubzkji would not start at the Major, snubbed in favor of gla1ve, who was returning from paternity leave. Astralis explained that, while their decision \u201ccan seem a bit unfair\u201d, they picked the lineup they believed to have \u201cthe best chance to go all the way\u201d. No longer in the mood for a self-deprecating joke, Bubzkji admitted that he was \u201cdevastated\u201d at being denied the chance to play his first Major after playing a part in the team\u2019s qualifying campaign. \u201cHonestly speaking, I\u2019ve felt very demotivated after missing out on the Major and being benched once again,\u201d he said. \u201cThings had not been great for a long time, but then we finally had this big success moment and things were moving in the right direction individually. \u201cI believe I had the level to compete for Astralis, but not in the system or in the role that I was given. I felt I showed glimpses of \u2018greatness\u2019 in some events, but it was never really consistent. After dev1ce left, we actually did decently at IEM Cologne, and when gla1ve\/dupreeh went for the AWP, there was a lot more space for me to do what I was good at. \u201cBut it wasn\u2019t sustainable for them to AWP, so Astralis brought Lucky into the team. And then we had the issue again with dupreeh, gla1ve, and myself. We were basically competing for the same positions on the CT sides. \u201cWhen gla1ve was off, my performance again increased at IEM Fall, since there was a better role situation for my playstyle. But gla1ve is one of the best IGLs in the world, and he knew we collided a lot on the CT sides. [Also], he had to return at some point.\u201d Bubzkji watched from home as Astralis crashed out of the Major in 12th-14th place, barely making it past the New Challengers Stage. Despite being announced as part of Astralis\u2019 post-Major lineup \u2014 reinforced by the additions of Benjamin \u2018blameF\u2019 Bremer and Kristian \u2018k0nfig\u2019 Wienecke \u2014, he was nowhere to be seen as the new team arrived at the office for the first practice. He would not feature for Astralis again. Bubzkji\u2019s treatment during his time with Astralis only supports the theory that he was never truly wanted by the team\u2019s core players in the first place and that he was more of a management signing \u2013 as supported by Nyholm\u2019s tweet. As a rookie player, he had to take whatever the team gave him \u2013 which meant playing roles that weren\u2019t suited to him and never really being given the chance to shine. \u201cI think sometimes the players and Astralis had a different view on how roster changes should be made,\u201d he noted. As he reflected on his Astralis stint, Bubzkji admitted that things \u201cdidn\u2019t pan out the way I wanted or imagined.\u201d Still, he insisted that he holds no regrets about joining Astralis and that there were positives about his time there. \u201cI learned more at Astralis than I had in the previous years of my career. I really enjoyed being a part of something bigger and learning a lot of stuff about myself. I definitely improved aspects outside of my game.\u201d Counter-Strike future With most doors closed to him at this stage as teams finalize preparations for the new season, Bubzkji says he is in no rush to return to action. He has turned down a number of offers in recent months as he continues to wait for the right opportunity to emerge. \u201cI know what it takes to play at the highest level, and I didn\u2019t want to sign with a team just for the sake of playing for a salary,\u201d he explained. \u201cWhen I\u2019m not motivated, it doesn\u2019t make sense. \u201cWhen you sign a deal, you owe it to the organization and the players to do everything in your power to succeed. I have never played for the money, so I wasn\u2019t tempted to sign anything. My career is purely based on wanting to achieve results, personally and team-wise.\u201d Bubzkji has joined Danish national broadcaster TV2 as a commentator, expanding on a relationship that began at PGL Major Stockholm. The experience, he noted, while brief, left him \u201chooked\u201d. \u201cI asked TV2 if they were interested in working with me for 2022, and fortunately they were,\u201d he explained. \u201cMany will probably be shocked that I\u2019d rather work as an analyst than play, but right now this feels more right for me. \u201cI don\u2019t want to give the impression that I\u2019m retiring or that I\u2019m never returning to CS competitively. But for the next period of time, I\u2019ll be doing something else. And yes, I\u2019m fully aware of the consequences of going out of form, and of becoming less relevant over time. I\u2019ll still be around the high level. FACEIT, FPL, random qualifiers\u2026 \u201cBut if I were to return soon, I wouldn\u2019t have an issue with going to a lower-tier team again, I\u2019ve done that before. My whole career has been underdog stories, where you build something out of nothing. The most important thing for me is that there\u2019s a good chemistry role-wise between the type of players you have.\u201d Everyone loves a good what-if story, and the way Bubzkji\u2019s time with Astralis panned out does make one wonder about where he would be if hadn\u2019t gone with his gut feeling. Would he, like his former MAD Lions teammate Rasmus \u2018sjuush\u2019 Beck, be playing for Heroic, one of the world\u2019s best teams? Or would he, like Fredrik \u2018roeJ\u2019 J\u00f8rgensen, another ex-teammate of his, have attended the Major with one of Denmark\u2019s up-and-coming teams? But it\u2019s still way too early to say that Bubzkji\u2019s career will be defined by what he did, or rather didn\u2019t do, at Astralis. His is not yet a story of potential unfulfilled, though he will need to be very careful when choosing his next project. That\u2019s why he is taking things slowly and biding his time instead of jumping at the first opportunity simply to chase an easy paycheck. When his sabbatical ends, he\u2019ll be ready to right the past two years. For when all is said and done, he\u2019ll want the record to show that Astralis were simply the wrong team at the wrong time for him.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Bubzkji reflects on Astralis stint: \u201cThings didn\u2019t pan out the way I wanted or imagined\u201d AstralisLucas \u2018Bubzkji\u2019 Andersen sat down with Dexerto to discuss his departure from Astralis and his future plans in the CS:GO scene. Perhaps nothing better sums up Bubzkji\u2019s experience at Astralis than a 12-character tweet posted on April 9, 2021. \u201c#freebubzkji\u201d, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-37439","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37439","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37439"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37439\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37439"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37439"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37439"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}