Meet the Esports Psychologist Who Led Astralis to a 'Counter-Strike' Championship - No Playing Field

Astralis is undoubtedly one of the best 'Counter-Strike: Global Offensive' teams on the planet, but they have one fatal flaw: choking in high-pressure situations and throwing away chances to be crowned CS:GO champions. In an effort to change their luck, the team hired a sports psychologist, and finally reeled in the Major tournament win that had eluded them.
'No Playing Field' is a series by Mashable following the behind-the-scenes of the ever-growing world of esports. From huge investment opportunities, to secret team tactics, to obsessed fans, the series gives deep insights on how esports came to be, its current challenges and where it's heading next.
Produced by Matt Kline
Subscribe to Mashable for esports coverage and more: on.mash.to/subscribe
WATCH RELATED VIDEOS
Pushing the Boundaries: Immigration and Esports - • Pushing the Boundaries...
How Game Updates Can Change the Esports Landscape - • How Game Updates Can C...
Esports Docs playlist: on.mash.to/EsportsPlaylist
MASHABLE ON KZbin
Subscribe to Mashable: on.mash.to/subscribe
Best of playlist: on.mash.to/BestOf
MASHABLE ACROSS THE WEB
Mashable.com: on.mash.to/1hCcRpl
Facebook: on.mash.to/1KkCTIP
Twitter: on.mash.to/1Udp1kz
Tumblr: on.mash.to/1NBBijY
Instagram: on.mash.to/1U6D40z
Google+: on.mash.to/1i27L5R
Mashable is a leading global media company that informs, inspires and entertains the digital generation.

[@BillyC]

They also destroyed my pick 'ems predictions so thanks for that Mia.

[@timur900subscribe]

Billy C. xD

[@CloudsBiggestFan]

Billy C. I almost put VP as a pick' em but I decided not to do pick'em

[@clark1066]

Same, I picked NaVi to win it all

[@BillyC]

I had vp to win it all. Still got silver though.

[@pants6361]

+Clark same here

[@apollo-n4148]

That Astralis comeback propably was best moment in her life as a Psychologist

[@TheAbstracTSniper]

Savage.

[@alexanderlohmann4675]

Apollo-N no that was when she was "talking" with device

[@eliotness107]

C0NSTABEL the first thing i was thinking when i saw this video was that she was the one who started choking in order the remove their issues HAHA i hope they had a good "talk" haha

[@meowmix6401]

but i mean to know that you've made an insane difference in someones life, that's pretty amazing

[@cjwright79]

What a cynical, dismissive attitude.

[@lorenzm3189]

'if you win you can touch me.' astralis wins major.

[@eeshan3955]

lmao

[@d1want34]

LOL!!

[@hobnob_eth]

LoLo Masta eZ Xd

[@Thespartan19]

the only motivation you'll ever need. lmao.

[@rence5257]

PFFTT! BEST MOTIVATION EVER! 😂

[@anevictionarbitration8346]

Holyshit, i just realized recently that she's currently with "Red Bull OG" dota 2 team, to be honest i dont know what kind of impact she make there, but OG have just claim their 2nd "The International" Victory at TI9 and be the first team ever not only to win it twice, but also the first to succesfuly defend the title.

[@sonkeschmidt2027]

Big impact. I've studied psychology myself and watched this ti and even though I'm more clinical oriented I could clearly tell how much those teams would profit from professional coaching. Then I saw og in the final and I knew they would win. And they I found out that they actually contracted her, which is just great. Many problems of our time will be solved through psychology. It still has a long way to go (I quit and went into self employment to progress faster) but eventually it will make a huge difference. And it can be tiny things. Make the players touch each other more often (non intimate of course) and you hugely increase team work. (because they identify their team mates as people again instead of objects. Reducing flame and increase empathy. You can observe that in regular sports where teams that clap and hug more have much better team coordination. We are still animals after all, nothing wrong with that it's just denial to think we would be different.

[@ciaojay7025]

I think that is the problem of some teams. Especially VP. I think they're mentally weak. They're a very good team. They deserve to win TI but they always crumble

[@dexyliciousMusik]

@@squareball7017 Actually not true. You can win in year x, next year some other team wins and are thereby the reigning champions. Afterwards you win again. Which makes you two time champions but you did not defend your first title. In short: with one win they kinda got both (first team who wins TI two times and first team to defend the title) achievements but either part is possible without the other one.

[@GintokiHatake]

oh my gosh you're telling me she's RORO? I mean I see her there but didn't pay that much attention to her. Woah really?

[@weareparamore1597]

shes a big contribution in og

[@TheBlackB0X]

"the sports psychologist meets individually with the players", no doubt working on their minds & bodies.

[@stefancraft1]

TheBlackB0X lmao

[@JFriisN]

xD

[@SponzifyMee]

as of right now even the likes are dirty

[@howabunga]

are you 12?

[@joeten4817]

doubt it

[@johnjackson8166]

Very touching story

[@thepoofication]

i c wut u did der...

[@archsach214]

I c it tu

[@apitjunggersnot6693]

Arxelaos Saxpazidis ax

[@zwilk18]

I was there and at the end as I was walking out one of the janitors said "dayum we gotta clean all dis shit up"

[@seasonal_clorox_bleach8308]

jeonjaeng hahaha:D

[@timur900subscribe]

I subscribed to this channel because of Scamalot, but now you are also making esports content? I love this channel!

[@JFriisN]

didnt we all subscribe because of scamalot? xD

[@Mashable]

Thanks for the comment! Glad you enjoy the range of content 🙌

[@Nevexios]

Timurka same hahaha

[@ryanpetroschka6038]

Timurka so true

[@nZym1]

Omg same ;D Hoping to see more scamalot and esports videos in future.

[@gbr63210]

And she help OG to win TI 9 =)

[@boogieman735]

And they won :)

[@itecnus3490]

lol i bet now all the teams will start hiring psychologists

[@DurandJeeP]

Teams have been doing that for a while now

[@Huchu1000]

*for years

[@DurandJeeP]

Huchu1000 yes I have heard about esport psychologist about 3 years ago

[@mrrobot594]

yeah but do they have a female psychologist who meets individually with the players ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) because that's the key

[@DurandJeeP]

Mr Robot that is the real question.

[@irisofrosebloom8741]

YOU MADE A FREAKING ESPORTS MINI-DOCUMENTARY? God I love this channel.

[@Mashable]

YEAH WE DID. Oh, by the way, did we mention that we have a whole playlist of esports docs? Because we do: on.mash.to/EsportsPlaylist

[@Jakal-Lantern]

I may not be a fan of Astralis, but I can say that they deserve that #1 title. G frickin' G

[@jukechuu]

the moment she started speaking, I was like "she's from Finland" next second I hear "Finland"

[@nuuxglobal3169]

hhhhhhhh magic

[@seasonal_clorox_bleach8308]

jukechuu instant perkele

[@ville0115]

jukechuu perkele

[@tapio3376]

Prkl stn vtu

[@christoffereidem2832]

"Their esports psychologist is a great help with their choking situations" yeah, right

[@scarfacecs]

Wolfe i bet she has choking situations with them too, if u know wat i mean xd

[@wil3zra229]

O pior entry fragger pretty sure that was the joke

[@tpz486]

But of course he wouldn't get it :)

[@tryharderpls]

No but it is true and it happens to alot of people. Maybe you're mind isint deep and complex enough to run into that mental problem thats why you will always be a nova type player :)

[@WayStedYou]

More boys than a Dan M video

[@gileric2470]

WayStedYou lmfao underated comment

[@seasonal_clorox_bleach8308]

WayStedYou hahah lmao

[@thijsb9953]

WayStedYou lmfao

[@cameron82489]

ALRIGHT BOIS

[@marcusdecimatron2710]

I crisp cleaned locked this comment's like button

[@crimsintv]

5:04 hey that's me two to the right of the guy with the striped shirt anyway, this was incredible.

[@nattokami9598]

CrimsiN it was so fucking intense I could get a heart attack

[@fusioncsgo9407]

CrimsiN your ugly

[@crimsintv]

FuSiOn CS:GO what about my ugly?

[@thefrosty1925]

CrimsiN I want it.

[@grabekna]

Now that's a good one :D

[@nilsmeilner2080]

Subscribed because of scamalot. And suddenly you bring a video about CsGo/E-sports. Colour me surprised and amazed. Love the channel.

[@SamTheWeirdKid]

Nils Meilßner I know right.

[@Mashable]

Pst! Did you know we have a whole playlist of esports videos? Check 'em out here: on.mash.to/EsportsPlaylist

[@azimlatip9760]

SamTheWeirdKi

[@pepticrose]

Mashable m

[@Xover112]

psychologist is from winland, not chokemark

[@roederlicous]

Yeah, it actually requires teams and players to choke. ;) How is Finland doing in CS:GO? LOL

[@Xover112]

the only issue with finland is that there are less good pros in the scene, allu literally looks like 2 steps above any fin, maybe except sunny.

[@maxmustermann3162]

But there also just live like 30 people in finland, so having one pro is not too bad!

[@ShortRound27]

We also have Cyanide who is a LoL world champion, oh and the other 28 people are either some sort of motor sport champions or play in the NHL.

[@seasonal_clorox_bleach8308]

Xover112 finnish people only play starcraft or dota

[@FistStrikeImpact]

"You have to be very fit, physically, these are athletes" Tell this to Guardian, Hiko, JW etc

[@djordjetosic4553]

Snax No.1

[@sunleep111]

King John plus majority of them are in top 10 lul

[@ruichen4698]

King John u

[@awpdragonlore3215]

King John astralis still won da major

[@PiraattiFilms]

look t how their teams are doing lmao

[@yaroslavkolomiiets7329]

Who is here after OG won TI9?

[@GintokiHatake]

I was so late to find out that Roro was this Mia Stellberg...I just found it out right now haha no hate please just love haha

[@RainbowPuschel]

I swear i'd be rich if i'd get a penny for every "The psychologist is the one chokeing now" joke under this video

[@anasothman3884]

There's only 962 comments on this video , 962 pennies assuming they all made that joke , 961 minus yours, if having 9.62 pounds is rich for you then lol. Why lie??

[@DraftedRedd]

@@anasothman3884 Figure of speech 💀

[@ronaldohobbs3660]

Can you imagine how shes feels knowing that they never made a major and with her help they win one. Thats just amazing

[@bhiden6460]

its weird seeing esports grow so fast. it was only like 4 years ago that i started playing cs and watching majors and its already on tv. finally my team won their major, lez go astralis! been with ya since just after copenhagen wolves :D

[@flyt1970]

This is why i love your content. I find this stuff so interesting and amazing, seeing them find the strength to build back from something like the slump that they were stuck in.

[@Mashable]

🙏 Thank you for the feedback! We enjoyed covering this story and producing the video.

[@flyt1970]

And thank you for the awesome content. Keep that bell ringing!

[@PALbub]

works until they all fall in love with her and start fighting each other over her.

[@inshallah7983]

This isn't a drama movie lol

[@rahilarious]

PAL they'll work as a team. 1v5 situation ( ͡• ͜ʖ ͡• )

[@PALbub]

Rahil Bhimjiani yeah hahaha, the best solutions are always the simple ones! :D

[@dragonfyzex1546]

PAL xD

[@LaitoChen]

clearly you fall in love with all your female co-workers.

[@KingOfBlades27]

TORILLE! :D

[@kimimakinen4114]

KingOfBlades27 perkele

[@JeriChopper]

tuon psykologit

[@tuomashirvonen8473]

JeriChopper minä fairyn

[@awpdragonlore3215]

KingOfBlades27 tuon kauniit naiset

[@MrIsoveli]

jes ralliengish

[@basbekjenl]

such a surprisingly emotional video. really well done, I'm impressed not only by the footage but also by how it's put together. Give yourself a pat on the back whomever made this.

[@abdullahmohammad9103]

I'm so glad someone made a video about Astralis's sports psychologist.

[@AD-30000]

Now she helped OG to become the best Dota 2 team of all time .

[@espenpaulsen428]

"Team needs to be fit", then they film dupreeh xD

[@ethernet389]

This is now my dream job. Freshman year, lets start grinding💪

[@CYBORGGAMINGYouTube]

ATB 👍

[@sangeetsubedi9509]

Thanks for covering esports. Mashable is realy great when it comes to this.

[@Daniel00232]

I can say that astralis is no longer choking...rather her psychologist.

[@Bosilaify]

I lost 40$ on this game thanks Mia -_-

[@xdxdxdxd3753]

I won 30€

[@oodleoodle4375]

Whoever idea this was needs a promotion, nicely done well watchable thanks mashmen

[@TheRealDanBond]

Wow. Didn't expect an esports video. To make one on the major? Ily.

[@eeshan3955]

She's sMashable . ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

[@xdxdxdxd3753]

Now she's the one choking

[@OriginalPuro]

While you're being nasty on youtube.

[@yrgels6475]

Smashable

[@CYBORGGAMINGYouTube]

They had the talent, they put in the efforts in the right direction and that's how they created their own legacy. The Astralis Era. You hated to see them win, because it wasn't fun to watch seeing the same team win. But they deserved, every bit of that success. 🙌 This goes to show that the right amount of work put in the right direction can yield exponential returns ❤

[@dvo5808]

I read a couple articles on your site and they were pretty enjoyable. Now i found you on youtube? This is wonderful :)

[@ShiniGamiGG]

lmao, i read "escort psychologist"... I was so confused by CS footage

[@OspTheOG]

That moment when counterstrike gets so real that you hire a sports psychologist LOL

[@SamuelHauptmannvanDam]

That game was insane. Biggest comeback I've seen in a while. Like, even if you don't follow CS, which I don't you can go see the game and understand the hype.

[@inscribe3249]

Really fucking well made video, great buildup. Well done Mashable

[@1086339]

I bet it was more of a physical treatment than a psychological treatment ;P

[@nuuxglobal3169]

keep beting :)

[@biggusballuz5405]

keep beating*

[@nuuxglobal3169]

thanks beating (y)

[@jiahong16]

Nix yeah, she probably said to astralis: beat them enemies like u guys did last night vs me in the bed!!

[@mitigamespro8757]

Lol it's not beting or beating xD it's betting boi

[@VEEXMONs]

who come here because OG win TI 2 Times in a Row?

[@2kbambusleitung606]

Even though they crushed my heart with their win, huge respect to everything Astralis has achieved

[@kururugi8221]

OMG! I subscribed to this channel for James Veitch, but now you guys are doing Counter-Strike?? I love this channel!

[@adrian0soares]

Bro, she's gorgeous.

[@awaister]

so basically Astralis are to esports what South Africa is to cricket

[@carl7139]

And now led the OG to TI9 Champion

[@xBaristaPaul]

good for them, WP Astalis. i know its been a while since but still. good call and well played

[@nashmourekson6764]

Astralis Mommy :3

[@jacobloera4678]

How much does she make for this? Im down to be a hype man and get paid big bucks!

[@blazhevski]

jacob loera if you want to do her job just because of money then you will suck at it

[@tuomashirvonen8473]

jacob loera being a psychologist in finland includes a massive amount of school (shes from finland)

[@jackbeason8058]

Esports csgo is so good and is only getting better. Also my favorite team is virtus, and even i was rooting for astralis during that final match. The underdog story has always captivated me.

[@icrus7523]

i loved this tournament my first gaming tournament i saw in person

[@anupbhandari8655]

I hope she knows online games cannot be paused

[@Jacksirrom]

There was very little actual substance to this video. They keep saying she helped but how?

[@corey4270]

Jacksirrom trade secrets

[@bovice5072]

The video is titled "meet the esports psychologist," not "learn how to practice psychology in esports."

[@Renzenism]

And if 'meeting' was all that was expected, this would be a 10 second video.

[@wanderrlust1833]

This was incredible

[@nerolia_gaming8030]

Great video and great job from Mia, I want this for dota2 scene! Ahhh, dreams, dreams

[@pgf2940]

your dream came true

[@hieuphungminh6690]

imagine all the salt they share with her

[@RobT89]

She likes them fit.. mhmm

[@islandsfuldkorn]

Really cool video!

[@patrickofreeman]

this is good stuff, and now they have a second championship to back it up

[@HypnosiswithEmily]

Oh wow, the idea of this is awesome

[@sn4kehead-]

such an awesome vid

[@armaniferreira7342]

This is such a beautiful thing

[@daftajax8830]

OG won TI8 last year. Then they won TI9 this year. And I don't know how impactful she was during the TI9 for OG. But hey, Astralis had the same Psychologist after all.

[@nelsonsxs3515]

Very touching to see Hard work paying off, also very interesting to see how big of an impact your mins set has on your performance, same. Thing happened in tennis, Djokovic could never become the number 1 player, despite having the talent, hired a psychologist and he is the number 1 tennis player most of the time

[@rony3890]

Not a better psychologist than ChiLongQua, best dota 2 psychologist the world has ever seen

[@user-zn5wn2mc3n]

She is definitely has a huge positive impact on the players. I am in this video at the end where device is singing my mousepad and we are taking a selfie !!!!!

[@keg7991]

Hey, one question, is that what Astralis would do?

[@hebbelynckquinten]

Mad respect

[@mnz777nz4]

this is f**k**g inspiring.

[@NitishDobhal]

As kjaerbye rightly said: its easy to be number one but its more difficult to maintain that spot. Yesterday they were thrashed by virtus.pro, the same team that they defeated in eleague majors finals.

[@denisaljic]

THEY ON THE GEAR BOIZ!

[@yeahright6048]

Congratulations Astralis, I am a huge VP fan but great job

[@Gamer4074]

Now let's see what happens in the rematch

[@dn5426]

Their coach is so huggable

[@NOY-GTR-GODZILLA]

Also led OG for their title defense

[@TonytheCapeGuy]

This is some cool perspective. :)

[@user-gd6mc5hi5k]

Its insane it was 7 years ago

[@direkthoeger]

holy shit im getting goosebumps watching this. Go Astralis!

[@vincents.6310]

If I were an Astralis member I would also get hyped after spending individual time with that sport psychologist

[@virenjoshi]

Mashable 😍🙆🏻‍♂️

[@k.b.peterson8022]

I feel like health and fitness is extremely beneficial for something like esports. Having the proper diet and exercise will have your brain working at it's best which is obviously a game changer in an event as huge as this. A lot of people try to discredit this from being an actual sport, but fuck that. This take a great deal of brain power and if your not and your best health wise, good luck.

[@lucmedio9854]

"It's extremely important to be fit" Hiko

[@omarhilal921]

LUC MEDIO his sister does it for him

[@marcusboldreel2823]

mia stellberg is not a esport psychologist but a sport Psychologist she helped me in badminton

[@haqim9450]

She's OG's now

[@frederikandreassen8676]

men de troede på det og det var fantastik

[@raventhornicus1537]

Really good video

[@baybay7765]

She's from Finland. Jerax and topson were from Finland too

[@grappenkoning]

i think i know how mia relaxes "the boys"

[@mer0O0o]

I love psychologist now.

[@0Adnin]

4 Year later.... 4 Majors...3 Back to Back. Astralis became CSGO's Greatest Dynasty. GGWP Astralis 2017-2021

[@VirusIsASpeedHamster]

Goosebumps

[@dezolatestation]

in esport u can get the YIPS? like baseball?

[@Nyc_Kicks]

Why doesn't this video have 1 million views

[@xWARLORDx]

I definitely need a psychologist.

[@tryharderpls]

Yo i need a sports psych so bad im so good when im focused but too often i start thinking about things too much then i end up throwing.