【】

HLTV caught up briefly with Astralis' in-game leader after he signed a contract extension ahead of their ESL Pro League playoff campaign.

Despite taking up calling, blameF is still providing much of Astralis' firepower

Astralis have been resurgent in recent times, finding themselves back in the upper echelons of the world rankings and once again making deep runs in the biggest tournaments. At the heart of this revolution is Benjamin "⁠blameF⁠" Bremer, who has taken on the fresh responsibility of calling in-game and continued to find impact in the fragging department as Astralis' best-rated player.

"It’s harder to focus on your aim and stuff when you are IGLing," blameF said in an interview to HLTV ahead of the ESL Pro League Playoffs. "I’m not surprised that I haven’t taken a big hit, but I think I have taken a hit individually."

blameF may be feeling a slight drop off in his individual level, but that is not really manifesting on the server, as he currently sits as the second-highest rated player in the tournament heading into the playoffs. "We didn’t play the best opponents yet, so that’s why the stats are higher right now," is his modest response when asked about his performance thus far.

I’m not surprised that I haven’t taken a big hit, but I think I have taken a hit individually Benjamin "⁠blameF⁠" Bremer

Regardless, the Danish powerhouse squad managed to make it to the playoffs, and they are feeling optimistic ahead of the commencement of their playoff journey in Malta, according to blameF. "I think we’re feeling pretty good, it’s been some good practice days so yeah, we’re ready."

Read more blameF signs contract extension with Astralis through 2025

The dramatic upswing in Astralis’ form has resulted in blameF committing himself to the organization through to 2025, something he is certainly pleased about. "It feels good to be committed to Astralis, I like it here, I’m very happy about the new setup. I’m very happy to continue my career in Astralis, I feel at home here."

Astralis' new setup is allowing all players to have important roles, and Buzz seems to be benefitting from the structure

One of the revelations of the Astralis team since blameF took over leadership duties has been the immense peak performances of Christian "⁠Buzz⁠" Andersen. Previously the young Dane was struggling to find much impact on the server, but in recent games he has shown a new peak level previously thought beyond him, particularly in the matches against Natus Vincere and HEROIC in Cologne.

"We are trying to build a team where different people have different maps that they are having important roles on, so anyone on the team can win a map for us," blameF stated when discussing Buzz’s performances. "Of course it’s a little bit map dependent, depending on roles and stuff, but I think everyone can win maps for us."

Looking forward to their ESL Pro League playoff campaign, blameF was nonplussed about the prospect of facing Eternal Fire in the first round. "I don’t think we really care about who we play honestly, we just play what’s in front of us. I think they’re a good team, but it doesn’t matter for us." He was, however, reserved when discussing his team's goals for the tournament, despite their recent success and upturn in form. "I think we’ll just go match by match honestly, I don’t think we have a deep goal from the get-go."

Eternal Fire #34 Engin 'MAJ3R' KüpeliIsmailcan 'XANTARES' DörtkardeşÖzgür 'woxic' EkerBuğra 'Calyx' ArkınAli 'Wicadia' Haydar Yalçın Sezgin 'Fabre' Kalaycı Natus Vincere #8 Oleksandr 's1mple' KostylievAleksi 'Aleksib' VirolainenMihai 'iM' IvanValeriy 'b1t' VakhovskiyJustinas 'jL' Lekavicius Andrey 'B1ad3' Gorodenskiy Christian 'Buzz' Andersen Age: 20 Team: Astralis Rating 1.0: 0.97 Maps played: 443 KPR: 0.65 DPR: 0.67 Benjamin 'blameF' Bremer Age: 26 Team: Astralis Rating 1.0: 1.16 Maps played: 1093 KPR: 0.77 DPR: 0.60 HEROIC #4 Casper 'cadiaN' MøllerMartin 'stavn' LundRené 'TeSeS' MadsenRasmus 'sjuush' BeckJakob 'jabbi' Nygaard Richard 'Xizt' Landström Astralis #5 Nicolai 'device' ReedtzJohannes 'b0RUP' BorupBenjamin 'blameF' BremerVictor 'Staehr' StaehrChristian 'Buzz' Andersen Peter 'casle' Ardenskjold