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Can Astralis Survive Without zonic?

Except for Bubzkji, all of Astralis’ players are close to the end of their contracts. Just 5 months from... Radu M. | 21. July 2021

Except for Bubzkji, all of Astralis’ players are close to the end of their contracts. Just 5 months from now, they will be able to leave for free to any club they desire, unless of course, they choose to stay. Another possible outcome is for Astralis to sell some of these players to other teams. But given the squad’s result at the recent IEM Cologne (3rd – 4th), I don’t see that happening. Most likely the entire crew is going to stay and continue playing together, even though they might have to accept smaller salaries. There’s only one issue though: there are rumors that zonic wants to leave. And without him, Astralis may not be the same team in 2022.

Why Is zonic Important

Just like dupreeh and Xyp9x, zonic has been with Astralis from day 1. The organization was created at the start of 2016, so at the end of this year he will have 6 long years in service for the club. Given what Astralis has accomplished during this time, we can easily say that he is one of the greatest coaches in the history of CS:GO.

zonic’s accomplishments as Astralis’ coach include 4 Major victories and more than a dozen casual trophies, if we can call them that. When we draw the line, it’s clear that he’s done a stellar job for the team. How much of that success is due to him and how much of it is due to the sheer brilliance of his players is hard to assess. I guess we’ll know the answer if he leaves and Astralis goes from good to mediocre or worse.

Of course, it’s always more than just technical input. When you’ve spent such a long time coaching a team, the players of that team develop a relationship with you. And some of the success comes from the emotional magic that’s generated by that bond. You feel motivated to train because you don’t want to let your coach down. And you anticipate rejoicing with him after every triumph. That feeling is hard to replace. So are the coaching skills, but in CS:GO it’s not impossible to find a great coach. The only problem is that not all coaches bring the same vibe and have the same impact on their players, even if they’re very knowledgeable about the game.

The Consequences

With zonic gone, Astralis would face a huge problem. And if one or two of the players leave as well, I’m pretty sure that we will see a severe collapse of the entire organization, at least in terms of results. Everyone has gotten used to the Astralis that wins titles or finishes in the top 4. In 2021, the results have not been great so far, except for the most recent one.

With 5 months left to go, a huge Major and several other important tournaments, the fate of this Astralis roster as well as zonic’s are in the balance and the outcome is likely to be determined by the results. If the players feel like they can still win titles together, there’s a good chance that they’ll secure good contracts and decide to stay. But if the results are bad and the desire for a new challenge starts to creep in, these months will likely be the last of Astralis, or at least the Astralis we’ve come to know.

 

Photo credit: IEM|Helena-Kristiansson