HUNDEN becomes Astralis' new analyst

Danish esports organization Astralis has unveiled a new analyst for its CS:GO roster. In addition to previous appointments as a psychologist and performance coach, the infamous HUNDEN coach becomes the team's chief analyst.

First of all, I am glad that now we have come to an agreement with Nikolay, who is an extremely qualified and sought-after specialist. It will no doubt enhance our analytical work. We enter 2023 with a stronger team and a modernized work organization where we have invested in more talented profiles.

Of course, we know Nikolay's story and what he went through, but I have no doubt that as a person and as the extremely experienced analyst that he is, he will be a great asset to our team and organization.

Kasper Hvidt, sporting director of Astralis

HUNDEN is one of the most successful trainers in Denmark. During his short stint with Heroic, he managed to win several championships, including LOOT.BET/CS Season 6 and ESL One: Cologne 2020 Online - Europe, as well as place in the top three at DreamHack Open Summer 2020: Europe and DreamHack Masters Spring 2021.

However, the 31-year-old Dane is no less known for his scandals, which escalated especially in 2021 and led to lengthy proceedings.

We recall the chronology of events that happened to the Danish specialist in 2021:

1. Before IEM Cologne 2021, the Heroic team made a joint decision to go to the tournament without HUNDEN due to serious trust issues
2. After that, the specialist blocked access for team members to the folder with strategies
3. The coach shared confidential information with one of the key employees of a major competitor (as it turned out later, with Astralis)
4. The organization considered this action illegal and in violation of contractual obligations.
5. In Denmark, a trial has begun in this case.
6. This issue has been reported to ESL and ESIC
7. Heroic organization terminated the contract with HUNDEN unilaterally
8. 31-year-old Danish specialist will receive a two-year ban from ESIC for passing a folder with strategies to a competitor

Interestingly, the latest scandal was another serious blow to the coach's reputation, which was already undermined after he received an eight-month ban from ESIC at the end of 2020 for using the infamous "camera bug".

However, in December, ESIC dropped all charges against the Dane, thus allowing him to continue working on the professional stage. However, this decision caused a strong reaction from the community, which could not come to terms with the perfect ending for HUNDEN.

The next championship for the Danish team is BLAST Premier: Spring Groups 2023, after which Astralis will go to Malta to participate in ESL Pro League Season 17.

Updated Astralis CS:GO roster:

• Xyp9x
• gla1ve
• blameF
• device
• buzz
• castle (head coach)
• HUNDEN (Chief Analyst)
• Jan O Jorgensen (performance coach)
• Bjarne Slot Christiansen (psychologist)
• Villads Kieffer-Rush (roster manager)