HooXi and jabbi benched: Astralis enter Singapore tournament with only three active players

Astralis have benched in-game leader Rasmus "HooXi" Nielsen and Jakob "jabbi" Nygaard with immediate effect, leaving the team with just three active players ahead of PGL Major Singapore 2026.

The absence of the two is not a cosmetic change – it hits the team at both ends of its structure. HooXi was the team's captain and tactical centrepiece, while jabbi served as one of the team's primary fraggers. Without them, Victor "Staehr" Staehr, Love "phzy" Smidebrant and Gytis "ryu" Glušauskas remain as the only active trio.

In concrete terms, this means Astralis are missing a confirmed in-game leader and an established rifler ahead of the upcoming tournament. The team is already scheduled to play Stake Pulse Beat III on 12 October – a date that leaves extremely little time to integrate new players, build chemistry and practise systems under a new IGL.

Kamil "siuhy" Szkaradek and Nikita "cmtry" Samolotov have both been linked to the vacant spots, but neither signing has been officially confirmed. If cmtry is brought in on loan from FUT, he is expected to switch from AWP to the rifle role, which would allow phzy to remain the team's dedicated AWPer. This is, however, still at the reporting stage.

The sporting risk is clear: Astralis' Valve Regional Standings placement gives the team a strong position with regard to a Major invitation, but a new and untested lineup has limited time to find its level. HooXi had just lifted the team's first LAN trophy since 2019 – a victory at Stake Ranked Episode 4 on 4 October – and his tactical fingerprint will not be immediately replaceable.

Astralis are now a team in transition, and it is the Singapore tournament that will reveal whether the new constellation can bear the pressure.