CS:GO Team Question Mark Forms Player-Owned Team Astralis
Team Question Mark, a team composed of former Team SoloMid (TSM) CS:GO players, announced that they are reforming their squad after teaming up with a couple of top-notch investors to create their own organization.
The new roster will be called Astralis. The five-man CS:GO team will be co-owners of the Astralis organization, with each holding shares on top of their player salaries.
Since the beginning of December 2015, Danish-side Question Mark were on the prowl after being dropped by Team SoloMid, with rumors of high-profile teams wanting to take them under their wings.
American organizations FaZe Clan, of Call of Duty fame, and the to the globalized Alliance brand have reportedly approached the former TSM players.
In the end, the CS:GO team partnered with Danish investment firm, Sunstone Capital and Tommy Ahlers.
The terms of their agreement gave them a stable and sizable paycheck, while at the same time allowed the players to own stock in the company
In addition, players have full disclosure of the company’s net-worth based on sponsorships gathered due to their performance as players. All financial matters with regards to the team are apparently made transparent among members of the organization.
The arrangement will imply that the players will no longer be consider as contractors or even employees of the organization as is the common setup in modern eSports organizations; they are also its co-owners.
karrigan gave a statement on the team’s official website:
When we first heard about this project, we all thought it was an extraordinary chance to make our own mark in esports (sic). We chose this offer over countless others, including far more profitable in the short term, because we believe in building something that will have a lasting impression on the game we love.
On a follow-up interview on the Astralis page, Andreas “Xyp9x” Højsleth said the following regarding their partnership:
With all due respect to a lot of organizations and their owners: Some players are getting screwed. Many of us players, including myself, are young and don’t fully grasp what your worth is. But knowing how much an organization earns in partnerships based on you as players, is something that all players ought to know. I realize there needs to be room in a budget for managers, coaches, staff and other things, but if an owner cuts corners in regards to the players and their conditions, to take a larger piece of the pie, I’d personally be furious. In Astralis we know how the money is spent and that makes a big difference from our perspective.
As members of the former TSM CS:GO squad, the five-person Danish crew that includes Finn “karrigan” Andersen and Nicolai “devve” Reedtz had consistent performances in 2015. They finished in the semi-finals of 16 out of 20 LAN events in 2015.
Sunstone Capital is a high-level European investment company based in Denmark that focuses on technology and life science startups.
Here are the members of the new Astralis roster:
Finn “karrigan” Andersen
Nicolai “devve” Reedtz
René “cajunb” Borg
Andreas “Xyp9x” Højsleth
Peter “dupreeh” Rasmussen
Banner image taken from the Astralis official FB page.
Source: Astralis official website
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