CSGO – Mr. Consistent: The History of dev1ce Pt. 2

In Part 1 we talked about the early years of dev1ce’s career. In Part 2 we’d like to shine light on the heights to which dev1ce and his team pulled the Danish squad Astralis to and how he became one of the greatest of all time. Get ready for The History of dev1ce Part 2!

Astralis 2.0

Magisk’s entry coincided with an off-game revolution for the Danes. Workout, therapy sessions, diet, etc. all became part of the picture to boost their mental health and in-game performances. And today, there is not a single soul that would argue against the effectiveness of this commitment.

In the space of 7 months, Astralis made the Grand Finals of 7 tournaments and going into the second Major of 2017, they seemed the clear favorites to win it all. Couple that with extraordinary performances from dev1ce, and Astralis went through the whole Major by dropping only one single map, that too in the Group Stage. After a spotless playoff, it was a rollover and a victory for the ages. dev1ce was named the MVP of the Major.

From that point on till the next Major in March 2019, Astralis made it to the Grand Finals of every single tournament that they played in, winning 8 of those in a space of 6 months. They also became the first team to win the Intel Grand Slam in 2018. And the story repeated itself. They were the clear favorites going into the Katowice 2019 Major, and they dropped only one single map in the whole Major, in the Group Stage. One more clean Playoffs run and Astralis had equaled fnatic’s Major record of 3.

But in the next 6 months, Astralis experienced a slump. They won only one tournament after their early Major win, and in the meanwhile, Team Liquid became the dominant winners Astralis once used to be. Team Liquid won the Intel Grand Slam in 2019 in record time and had won each of the 4 consecutive tournaments they participated in leading up to the second Major of 2019. Team Liquid were the clear favorite for Berlin 2019 Major.

But the now-faltering Danish squad had other plans. After a potential Grand Final was set up in the Quarterfinals against Team Liquid, Astralis picked Liquid’s strongest ever map, a map TL had a 100% win rate on: Vertigo. To the surprise of every single person involved in CS:GO, Astralis beat TL 16-8 on their strongest map, and there was no stopping them after that.

In a match where dev1ce was named MVP, Astralis beat Team Liquid 2-0 and put in yet another flawless Playoffs performance, winning every game 2-0. dev1ce won yet another Major MVP, and as we know it today, he remains the player to have won the most MVPs in the history of the game.

A few months later, the pandemic would ravage the world and all teams would slump to adjust to a fairly insignificant online era. dev1ce didn’t make it out of the online era with Astralis, as he made the shocking decision of quitting Astralis for Sweden-based NiP in March 2020. It was the end of an irreplicable era. The unexpected curtains to a team in a clear decline. The end of the best of all effing time.

The Swedish Life and 2021 Major

Life after divorce was very difficult for both parties. dev1ce’s squad took 7 months to finally win a tournament, but when NiP hit the ground running, they soared unimaginably high up the World Rankings. Dominant regional performances meant they were ranked Number 2 in the world when the Major knocked our doors.

NiP and dev1ce had found their form at possibly the best time. Number 1 in the world was NaVi, and in the Legends stage, NiP’s mettle was tested against the Ukrainians. dev1ce’s men found b1t and s1mple too much to play against, as they slumped to a 2-0 defeat, ensuring NaVi’s qualification to the Playoffs.

Notably, dev1ce faced his former teammates in Astralis in Round 2 of Legends. The golden boy of Danish Counter-Strike put in an MVP-worthy performance, as the Swedes blew away Astralis 16-1. One Bo3 defeat to Vitality later, Astralis have quit the Major in the Group Stage. NiP lost to Gambit but won against CPH Flames to ensure their place in the Playoffs, in front of the Stockhome crowd. But it wasn’t meant to be, as they quit the tournament after losing to eventual-runner-ups G2.

The Legend of dev1ce

At the end of the day, dev1ce remains an unerasable part of CS history, but only along with his career brothers in dupreeh and Xyp9x. The legend of dev1ce is as much a part of teamwork and brotherhood than it is about his individual brilliance. And for that, he and his crew will never ever be tarnished or forgotten. s1mple may be hot on dev1ce’s heels but as of now, he remains the player with the most MVPs. Forever the man who was deemed as the most valuable amongst a crop of godly talent.