Xyp9x takes a break from CS:GO

Astralis has officially announced the decision of Andreas "Xyp9x" Heuslet to temporarily leave the CS:GO scene. According to the 24-year-old player, he has been feeling the symptoms of emotional burnout and stress for a long time, so he needs to restore his health.

Andreas 'Xyp9x' Højsleth:

- I have sadly been feeling burnout/stress symptoms chasing me over many months. It's time to take the necessary break to rest and find the motivation to get back to competing for Astralis. Everyone around me has done a great number of things in order to avoid it, and there is nothing that I would rather do than keep on playing without a break, but the time has come to take care of my health and therefore I have given in a sick note to Astralis.

- I really want to extend a huge thank you to the teammates, the Astralis organization and everyone around me who has been very supportive in this time. I don't know when I will be back competing but I hope for my fans' understanding as this was a very hard decision for me to make.

For the upcoming tournaments, the starting line-up for Astralis will be Marco "Snappi" Pfeiffer. According to HLTV.org, ex-captain Heroic was bought by the Chinese club TIGER, so it's not clear what status the Danes will have in their current team.

We would like to remind you that on May 19, Astralis leader Lukas "gla1ve" Rossander went to inactivity for medical reasons. He was replaced by Jakob "JUGi" Hansen, who shortly before that was signed as the seventh player.

Astralis will take part in the BLAST Premier Spring 2020 Europe Showdown from 1 to 7 June, where he will face Vitality, ENCE, Ninjas in Pyjamas and sAw in the group stage. The Danish band will also play in DreamHack Masters Spring 2020 - Europe playoffs scheduled for June 8-14.