To summarize the controversy, BLAST allowed Astralis to substitute their captain Alexander "br0" Bro for Casper "cadiaN" Møller after the roster deadline had passed on the basis of a medical emergency ruling. However, it was revealed by br0’s agent that the former captain was perfectly well, meaning that BLAST did not do its due diligence before applying the ruling. The worst part was that even after exposing Team Astralis's dishonesty, BLAST did not reconsider their decision, stating that they take what teams tell them at face value - overall, a very bad look for both the team and the organizer.
What went down?
Team Vitality and Astralis faced off in the Group stages of the event, specifically in Group B. Going into the match, the pressure was on Astralis’s side, specifically cadiaN. For him, despite the questionable circumstances behind his inclusion into the tournament, this was his first chance to prove himself as a leader capable of replacing br0. However, unfortunately for him, Team Vitality were in peak form following their quarterfinal exit from the ESL Pro League Season 20, and hence did not concede a single round on the first map, Inferno.
Team Astralis were able to secure their first round in the series during the second map, but the little resistance they were able to muster up was not enough to steal an entire map away from the French powerhouse. Team Vitality has always been very strong on Dust2 and was able to show that once more with a 13-4 victory. Overall, a very stellar performance from the side of Team Vitality, with the highlight of the series being ZywoO’s masterful 1v4 on A defence during the first map.
What did device say post-match?
The series served as the first time Nicolai "device" Reedtz failed to tally a single round on a map, with the Dane admitting that the outcome was far from what they wanted for their very first game.
device made the following comments about the game: “It's the first time I lost 13-0, or 16-0 as it was in CS:GO, so that sucks. I didn't think we showed up at all. Of course, we got some rounds on Dust2, but overall... yeah, karma was not with us. We couldn't finish anything, we stressed our mid-rounds, and we didn't react to what they were doing as well. It's how it is sometimes, It's one game, it's not going to break the team, but it's not the debut we hoped for, for sure,”
device also spoke about the recent controversy and whether it affected the team’s performance: “It would be a lie to say no. As I also said with the karma and everything, we're just the players and we're getting a lot of the comments on us and that's just how it is. We have to be strong as a team and show character. We wanted to do that on the server and we didn't, so now we just have to protect each other and make sure we get ready for the game tomorrow.”
