cadiaN benched by Astralis, HooXi to take his place for PGL Astana

cadiaN has been benched by Astralis just seven months after shockingly joining them to reunite with his former HEROIC teammates, stavn and jabbi.

Replacing him, at least for the time being, is HooXi, who will stand in for Astralis during PGL Astana in May.

Also departing the organisation is Sporting Director, Kasper Straube.

cadiaN benched by Astralis

Despite Astralis' failure to qualify for the BLAST.tv Austin Major, news of cadiaN's benching still comes as a shock.

The second time Astralis had failed to qualify for a Major under his leadership, they previously also failed to make it to the Perfect World Shanghai Major, although they were without device for the RMR.

cadiaN's time at Astralis was trophyless, although it wasn't without it's high points. The team finished in 3rd-4th at BLAST Premier World Final, his second event with the team, and also finished in third at PGL Cluj-Napoca 2025 after a blockbuster third-place decider game versus FaZe.

Not counting HEROIC, this is the second time cadiaN has been benched since of CS2 in 2023, having also been benched by Liquid following a disappointing spell with a team full of big names.

Although only as a stand-in, cadiaN will be replaced for the upcoming PGL Astana tournament by HooXi. The event will mark the first time HooXi has been in action since BLAST Premier Spring Final 2024, he was benched by G2 after a last place exit at the event in London.