Astralis CEO confirms late payments impacting staff and CS2 roster

Jonas Gundersen, CEO of Danish esports organisation Astralis, has confirmed a delay to its December payroll, impacting members of workers and its Counter-Strike 2 roster.

First reported by Danish tabloid newspaper Ekstra Bladet, salaries as a consequence of be paid on December 1st weren’t obtained.

In line with the report, workers have been notified of a two-week delay to December’s funds on account of ‘challenges’ encountered by the organisation’s new homeowners following its acquisition by Fusion Esports Group in September 2025.

To compensate for the fee delay, Gundersen revealed that each one affected workers members will obtain a ten per cent complement when the salaries are processed.

“It’s not optimum, however it’s about the truth that we now have taken over an organization with some challenges, which we had been absolutely conscious of from the beginning,” mentioned Gundersen in a press release to Ekstra Bladet. “It’s actually dangerous timing for the workers right here in the midst of December.”

Gundersen additionally confirmed that the delay has impacted the organisation’s Counter-Strike 2 gamers at the moment competing on the StarLadder Budapest Main 2025. For Astralis, that is the primary time in three years that it has competed at a Valve-sanctioned occasion, having didn’t qualify since 2022.

Previous to the takeover, Astralis printed its monetary assertion for 2024, revealing a DKK 31.3m (~£3.6m) web loss on account of the workforce’s underperformance in tournaments and Valve’s determination to restructure the Counter-Strike esports ecosystem in 2023.

The restructuring resulted ultimately of franchised leagues that offered esports organisations with a assured income stream whereas competing in occasions operated by a number of event organisers.

Astralis is now trying to qualify for Stage 3 of the Budapest Main, which might put the organisation inside 5 rounds of a probably profitable place within the playoffs. The workforce will face off towards Staff Liquid in a best-of-three sequence on December 2nd, with the winner advancing to the following part and the loser heading dwelling.