Astralis signs HooXi as new CS2 captain

Danish player Rasmus "HooXi" Nielsen has officially joined the Astralis CS2 roster. The organization announced the signing via social media.

HooXi will take on the role of in-game leader, previously held by Kasper "cadiaN" Møller. cadiaN, in turn, will remain on the bench. Nielsen shared that joining Astralis has been a long-time dream of his, finally coming true in the tenth year of his career.

The new captain of Astralis’ CS2 team, Rasmus "HooXi" Nielsen, commented on his arrival, expressing happiness about playing in a fully Danish roster. His thoughts were shared via X (formerly Twitter).

Rasmus "HooXi" Nielsen:

“I can finally proudly call myself the captain of Astralis. Happy to be back in action — with both new and familiar faces. Playing for Astralis has been a dream for a long time — the history of this team speaks for itself.

It feels extra special to be part of a fully Danish lineup again. I believe that, with time and hard work, we can build on what we started in Astana — and give back to the fans who have already shown us incredible support.”

HooXi first played for Astralis at PGL Major Copenhagen 2025 as a stand-in. The team made it to the grand final but lost to Team Spirit. Previously, cadiaN led the roster, but they failed to qualify for BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025, losing to B8 Esports in the decider match.

Astralis CS2 roster:

• Nicolai "device" Reedtz

• Victor "Staehr" Staehr

• Jakob "jabbi" Nygaard

• Martin "stavn" Lund

• Rasmus "HooXi" Nielsen

• Kasper "cadiaN" Møller (bench)

Astralis ends 2024 with $4.7M loss — the organization is on the brink of closure