Official: Astralis sign phzy and ryu

Astralis have completed their lineup ahead of the first tier-one event of the year, BLAST Bounty S1.

The Danish organization has signed Love "⁠phzy⁠" Smidebrant and Gytis "⁠ryu⁠" Glušauskas following the departures of Nicolai "device" Reedtz and Emil "Magisk" Reif. Astralis will now be communicating in English, marking the end of one of the few remaining national lineups.

Astralis CEO Jonas Gundersen had this to say about the team's new signings, "These are our first international signings, and they are players we believe fit very well into what we are building."

phzy has been signed after a rough year with Wildcard and a couple of loan stints to 9INE. The AWPer still managed a 1.15 rating over 233 maps played despite the tumultuous year.

ryu joins from Monte, where he has played since January 2025. The 21-year-old averaged a 1.14 rating in 400 maps and is seen as one of the top talents of the future, ranking at #22 in HLTV's latest prospect report update.

Astralis' first match of the new year will come at BLAST Bounty S1 on January 12th.

Here is the team Astralis will field to start 2026:

• Rasmus "⁠HooXi⁠" Nielsen

• Jakob "⁠jabbi⁠" Nygaard

• Victor "⁠Staehr⁠" Staehr

• Love "⁠phzy⁠" Smidebrant

• Gytis "⁠ryu⁠" Glušauskas

• Casper "⁠ruggah⁠" Due (Coach)