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In the late Summer of 2022, Astralis announced its first-ever women's team in Counter-Strike. Now, the Danish organization, in collaboration with the team's main partner, Netcompany, is taking the next step:

Today, Astralis is announcing a team comprised of 4 Danish players, led by Danish/Norwegian resident Aurora Lyngdal. Aurora has been with the team from the beginning, serving as one of the initiators and the captain of the first women's team in Astralis.

The Team

Aurora "aurora" Lyngdal

Josefine "josefine" Brohus Hedegaard Jensen

Marie "marie" Ellen Toft Sørensen

Anja "anja" Soelberg

Marie "maliTy" Kragelund Holm

Coach: Søren "zibron" Geertsen

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Kasper Straube, Sports Director, Astralis:

- It's truly a great day for Astralis and hopefully for Danish women's CS. Since spring, the organization has been considering forming a Danish women's team, and now we are at a point where we can take the next step and present the team that can now call themselves Astralis players. We want continue down the path we are already on with our CS organization, combining established and talented players who can develop both as humans and as players.

- The team is by no means the favorite to win titles from day 1, but the goal is that over the coming years, we will develop players who can compete at the highest level. Right now, it's about working with a group of extremely dedicated players who, along with the coach and the rest of the organization, will build on the Astralis culture, which is about much more than just playing and winning matches.

- I'm very pleased that we can continue to build around Aurora, who understands our values and has been a part of Astralis' women's team since before we even started. Additionally, it's fantastic to collaborate with a company like Netcompany in relation to our efforts in women's esports. We truly appreciate their partnership and their immense engagement.

The team is presented in collaboration with Denmark's largest tech company, Netcompany, which is not only the main partner but also the first commercial partner in Astralis solely dedicated to the women's team. As part of the partnership, Astralis and Netcompany will follow the team closely in what will be the first-ever documentary about a women's team in Counter-Strike. The partnership with Netcompany, becoming the team's main partner, will initially last for three years.

Le Gammeltoft, Director of Communications, Netcompany:

- We look forward to being a part of building up female talent and, above all, role models within Danish esports and gaming, where women are unfortunately still under-represented. To change that, first and foremost, there need to be women that others can look up to.

- Through this partnership, we also hope to contribute to a more nuanced debate about screen time. There is both good and poor screen time. Esports fosters social communities and skills that can develop into careers, both within and beyond the realm of sports.

- At Netcompany, diversity is not just a notion; we invest many resources into it. In our eyes, diversity is key to building talent. This applies both in sports and in the job market. We believe that gaming and esports are good and natural ways to spark interest in technology among young people - much more so than what's possible within our education system, for example. Therefore, we see this as an initiative that in the long run can help attract more women to the STEM fields, Le Gammeltoft explains.

The team's first challenge will be the qualification matches for the largest international women's tournament, Impact League.