Popular League of Legends team Origen is rebranding to the Astralis name, the organization announced today.
This decision comes after a split of poor performance that saw Origen finish in last place in the 2020 LEC Summer split. Many fans were calling for a change in the organization that’s struggled to live up to its historic pedigree in recent months.
The change “will reflect a new, yet well-known direction” and will involve rebuilding the organization “to include both known and new faces,” according to a blog post on the official Astralis website. The key stages in this proposed rebuild include the departure of general manager Martin “Deficio” Lynge and owner Enrique “xPeke” Cedeño, although xPeke will remain a shareholder in Astralis.
The role of current coach André Guilhoto is “yet to be determined,” but in the aforementioned blog post, Astralis introduced the core coaching staff around which the new organization will be built. This includes the promotion of former assistant coach Baltat “AoD” Alin-Ciprian to head coach, where he’ll be supported by Bjørn-Vegar “iHansen” Hansen, formerly a coach for NLC team Nordavind, in the assistant coach role.
“We want to win, but we want to do it while we constantly strengthen our foundation and progress, as a team, and as an organization,” said Astralis’ head of sports Kasper Hvidt. “Ultimately, we want to be a contender for the Worlds title, but just as with our Counter-Strike team, things will take time. For now, the focus is to build the strongest possible organization around the team.”
Astralis’ introduction to the LEC marks the brand’s first official foray into the League scene. The Astralis brand is also represented by teams in CS:GO and FIFA. With the loss of a brand as iconic as Origen in the European scene, this rebranding is yet another stepping stone in the wave of new talent entering the LEC.
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