The CS2 players in Astralis haven’t been paid their salaries that were due at the beginning of December, the organization’s CEO confirmed to Ekstra Bladet on December 1st.
Additionally, the Astralis employees are unpaid as well. Gundersen took over as CEO of Astralis in September, when Fusion Esports Group acquired the Astralis brand in September. Fusion is led by Jakob Lund, one of the Astralis co-founders in 2016, and Gundersen, who previously served as the CCO of Ninjas in Pyjamas.
Gundersen didn’t explain why the Astralis players and employees haven’t received their salaries. Instead, he mentioned that Fusion acquired a company with “challenges.”
It’s not optimal, but the fact is that we have taken over a company with some challenges that we were fully aware of from the start.
The payments were due on Friday, November 28th. The company told them on the same day that they would have to wait 14 days to receive their salaries.
In order to make up for the delay, Gundersen told Ekstra Bladet that everyone will receive a 10% add-on as compensation.
Jakob Lund (left) and Jonas Gundersen (right) are leading Astralis since September 2025. Credit: © Astralis
This problem couldn’t have happened at a worse time, as Astralis are playing at the StarLadder Budapest Major. The organization missed the last five Counter-Strike Majors, and finally managed to qualify after signing Rasmus “HooXi” Nielsen as the new IGL in June.
As of the writing of this article, Astralis are fighting for survival at the StarLadder Budapest Major Stage 2. They’re playing Turkish side Aurora in a do-or-die match.
Hopefully, this will be the last time that Astralis players and employees will have to endure this, as the organization should get a nice injection of cash as a result of participating in the Major and earning money from sticker sales.
Also read: Team Liquid unveils partnership with Duelbits
Feature image credit: © StarLadder
21+ and present in VA. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER.
