- Nicolai “dev1ce” Reedtz is rumored to want to return to Astralis
- Ninjas in Pyjamas’ poor performance might be the main reason dev1ce wants to leave
- Astralis have been struggling after dev1ce’s departure from the team
According to sources of a French website, Nicolai “dev1ce” Reedtz wants to leave Ninjas in Pyjamas to rejoin Astralis.
Dev1ce Wants to Return to Astralis
Nicolai “dev1ce” Reedtz is reportedly interested in returning to Astralis, according to French website 1pv.fr. This comes just less than a year after he left to join Ninjas in Pyjamas. His transfer to NiP was one of the most expensive player transfers in the CS:GO esports circle with a staggering cost of one million dollars. It was also significant, because the Danish player was the star and face of Astralis, helping his team win four CS:GO Majors and a plethora of S-tier championships.
It was expected that dev1ce would turn the tide for NiP, who was struggling to win championships in the past years. After the Danish player joined the team back in April, the team managed to win only one tournament, the IEM Fall European Regional Major Ranking (RMR) in October. Ninjas in Pyjamas didn't win any other tournaments, even when on home turf at the PGL Stockholm Major.
The Danish player had been living in Stockholm for 4 years at the time of the transfer, and with the whole Covid situation it made more sense for him to stay in his adopted country and aim for a victory at the Major, which was organized in the city. As mentioned before, this plan did not work out well neither for dev1ce nor for NiP.
Why Would dev1ce Be Coming Back to Astralis?
Astralis have struggled since the departure of the 26-year-old player. The addition of star players Benjamin “blameF” Bremer and Kristian “k0nfig” Wienecke was not enough to tip the scales in favor of Astralis in the last tournaments of the season. The team still needs a good AWPer, which dev1ce. His role was rather unsuccessfully filled in by in-game leader Lukas “gla1ve” Rossander in the last few weeks.
A reason why the Danish player might want to return to Astralis is the loss to Team Liquid at BLAST Premier: Fall Finals 2021. This seemed to be the final nail in the coffin for dev1ce, who was frustrated after losing to a “dead team”. The player later said he felt frustrated by this.
Another reason, on the more personal side to why dev1ce might want to go back to Astralis, is that his relationship with streamer Emilia Hult, who lives in Sweden, has recently come to an end. Naturally, this has impacted his morale, so he might want a change in the environment.
Regardless of the reasons for the Danish player wanting to transfer, this might be rather difficult as he signed a three-year contract with NiP. The negotiations will be difficult and the organization would likely not allow him to walk away for cheap.
