gla1ve's proud of his team's performance at IEM Cologne 2021

Astralis' captain Lukas "gla1ve" Rossander evaluated the performance of his squad in the first half of the year, which was concluded with the IEM Cologne 2021 tournament. In an interview to the official website of the Danish club, he noted that the high status of the team does not allow to call the period during which the team has not won a single trophy successful, but at the first LAN tournament for a long time roster was able to show its strength, taking 3-4 place.

Honestly, no one from Astralis would ever call a period without winning titles a success. We can find many explanations, including some really meaningful ones, but ending the spring season without trophies will never be satisfactory for any of us.

- Let’s be honest; in Astralis it is never a success not to win titles. We can find many explanations, also good ones, but ending the spring season without a title will never be satisfactory to any of us.

- It has been a difficult period, with only online tournaments where you have seen some teams perform extremely well, but where we have clearly not been in our right element. At the same time, we have lost one of the world's best players, which was something of an upheaval for all of us.

Despite a mediocre start to the year, the team has a lot to be proud of, Rossander believes.

- When you have played together for as long as we have, there will always be emotions that need to be processed. At the same time, we also had to find new solutions in the way we play and on that basis, I think there are a lot of good reasons for everyone on and around the team to keep their heads high. Especially after IEM Cologne, where we proved, how well we can perform in the right element, and when we play our best.

- We took some good scalps along the way and a bit more cold-blooded we would have closed the third map and secured a place in the Grand Final. It didn’t happen and I think the tournament shows what we are capable of, but also where we still have to add to our game. We have a team that can compete for the titles, and we now know exactly where we need to build on to take the next step. That's the feeling I’ll take with me on this break, and even though there are still issues to solve, I have a really good feeling about the future, says Rossander.

- The break comes at a good time for us, but I am already looking forward to coming back and to work on all the stuff that is already on the drawing board. In Astralis we are used to never standing still, but the goal is always the same: We want to move forwards and we constantly aim to develop the team and the way we play, both in the short and the long run, Rossander concludes

Astralis squad lost to G2 1-2 on the maps by the skin of their teeth at the IEM Cologne 2021 semifinals. The Danish grand received a prize of $80 000 for the final 3rd-4th place.

Origin: astralis.gg