A new head coach. A new performance coach. And a clear statement of where Astralis intends to go next.
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It's a decision that fits the story Astralis has been writing since new ownership stepped in under CEO Jonas Gundersen, a former professional player himself, and the man who rebuilt Ninjas in Pyjamas' operations before turning his attention to Astralis. The roster has been reshaped. The foundation has been rethought and sharpened from the ground up. All built on the conviction that a team that wants to reach the very top can't be built on talent alone. It has to be built around people who know what it costs to get there, on and off the server.

A STRATEGIC DECISION.

According to Gundersen, the choices are no accident. They're part of a broader direction for the club, one that marks Astralis's first time hiring outside of Denmark for its head coaching role.

“Filip is one of the most legendary and iconic players of all time. He’s shown time and time again that he knows what it takes to build winning teams and knows exactly what kind of culture is needed to win. Alongside him, adding Urszula is something that only makes the duo even stronger. She’s one of the most renowned and respected performance coaches in esports altogether and knows what it takes to win in the modern era. I fully believe that these two together are going to form an incredibly strong partnership towards building the winning culture that we want.” — Jonas Gundersen

Gundersen acknowledges that the transition from player to coach isn't an easy one, and that NEO has only held one coaching role before this. But he says he believes NEO will grow into the task and become an integral part of where Astralis is heading, working closely with the people around the team and the organization as a whole.

For Gundersen, this hire is about more than one specific outcome. It's about competitive performance, culture, talent development, and brand value all at once, with experience as the common thread running through it.

“To me, this is an investment in the future. It comes down to a core philosophy: winning in the long run requires a deeply rooted culture that runs through the entire organization. With these two bringing both the past and the present of what it takes to build that culture, I believe we can, over time, build one of the healthiest and most stable performance cultures out there. That’s exactly what we aspire to be — an organization built for the future, one that trusts the process over immediate results.” — Jonas Gundersen

The concrete ambition is less about a single result and more about building the fundamentals for lasting success. Gundersen wants to embed a culture of relentless pursuit of progression, always from a position of doing the work that mirrors the best version of the team. Astralis's ambition is to be consistently present at the top, he says, but without a proper culture and dedication underneath, that ambition is built on hope rather than process.

THE COACH WHO'S BEEN THERE.

NEO doesn't arrive as an unknown quantity in the scene. The 39-year-old Pole is widely regarded as one of the greatest players in Counter-Strike history, part of the legendary “Golden Five” generation, and a Major winner with Virtus.pro in 2014.Most recently, he spent three years as head coach of FaZe Clan, guiding the team to three Major finals and titles at IEM Sydney, CAC, and IEM Chengdu. It's that experience Astralis is now building its next phase around. Not just a coach, but someone who has already been where the team wants to go.

“Astralis has been on top of the Counter-Strike game for a long time, and the brand is still legendary. Going international hasn’t made the task in front of this group easy, and that’s exactly what makes it interesting, especially after the promising results they’ve already shown. Having an experienced performance coach alongside me was part of it too, someone to help me grow not just as a team, but as a coach myself.” — NEO

He's not promising sweeping changes on day one. The team has its own established ways of playing, and NEO says he wants to understand its structures before deciding what to touch. He's already spotted a few areas worth revisiting, but says it's too early to name them:

“Professional Counter-Strike players spend as much time together as people who live under the same roof, so the environment has to make that time enjoyable for everyone. There’s no substitute for work ethic, so it’s the coach’s job to fill every gap he sees to make the team work.” — NEO

As for what hewants Astralis to become under his watch:

“It’s not going to be easy to bring Astralis back to its glory days, but getting to a place where every opponent has to respect our name will be a good start. Reaching the playoffs every time we go to a tournament would be great.” — NEO

THE PERFORMANCE SIDE OF WINNING.

Alongside NEO, Astralis brings in Xirreth as performance coach, a role built around the part of winning that never shows up on a scoreboard. Xirreth joins from NAVI, where she spent over two years as performance coach for the Counter-Strike and Valorant rosters, including their 2024 Copenhagen Major win. Before NAVI, she spent over a year with ENCE, first as performance coach, then as Head of Player Development, during a stretch that saw the team rise to second in HLTV's world rankings and win gold at IEM Dallas.

WHAT GETS BUILT NEXT.

NEO, Xirreth, and Gundersen are all aligned on what's at stake. Asked what kind of organization he hopes Astralis becomes, Gundersen answers:

“A team that delivers highly explosive and competitive Counter-Strike, with people emotionally invested in the journey with their heart and commitment. We are proud of who we are, proud of where we are heading, and we need everyone to be proud to be part of it.” — Jonas Gundersen

There's been a clear shift in Astralis over the past year. Not a team chasing one result at a time, but an organization building a culture, on and off the server, built to last.

With NEO and Xirreth both in place, the next chapter begins.

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Contact

Patrick Payberg

Director, Brand& Communication

patrick@astralis.gg

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