In the late summer of 2023, a new women's esports team was unveiled.
It consisted of four Danish players and was led by seasoned Danish-Norwegian in-game leader Aurora 'aurora' Lyngdal, who had been instrumental in the team's journey since its formation.
Under aurora's leadership, the team's new roster at that time included:
This all-Danish lineup is a collaborative effort with Netcompany, Denmark's leading tech firm, aiming to bring a new dimension to women's Counter-Strike gaming. Netcompany, the team's main sponsor, is also the first commercial partner in Astralis to focus exclusively on supporting the women's division. This sponsorship agreement is set to continue for three years.
Since the team's formation was announced in August, the lineup has achieved significant milestones, including qualifying for the Nordic Women's Championship in Gothenburg.
There, the team, led by aurora, and with Isabella 'Ismo' Ferslev stepping in for maliTy impressively made it to the Grand Final against Finland, having secured victories over Iceland (13-1), Norway (13-8), and Sweden (13-1), and only losing to Finland (8-13) in the group stage.
Despite a valiant effort in the final, the team narrowly lost in a thrilling best-of-three series against Finland, with a final score of 2-1.
Kasper Straube, Sports Director at Astralis, commented on the announcement of the brand-new women's team:
"It's truly an excellent day for Astralis and, hopefully, 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."
Le Gammeltoft, Director of Communications at Netcompany, also expressed her great excitement and ambitions regarding the announcement:
"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."
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