Pop Flash: WHERE'S DEV1CE?! | BLAST CSGO Preview

With the BLAST CSGO Spring Showdown and PGL Antwerp CSGO Major RMR tournaments underway, there are plenty of Counter Strike stories going on. Will NIP dev1ce be coming back? What's happened to Astralis Xyp9x? And why aren't we in the NAVI era with the best CSGO player NAVI s1mple?
In this episode of the Pop Flash CSGO podcast, Richard Lewis, Duncan 'Thorin' Shields, and Auguste 'Semmler' Massonnat discuss the best CSGO teams and best CSGO players, and question whether Ninjas in Pyjamas need dev1ce to succeed, why Astralis won't win a trophy in 2022, and what has happened to VP.
Dexerto CS:GO offers a variety of video content, including the best CSGO moments, CS documentaries, Counter-Strike analysis, original CS GO shows & and trending Counter-Strike: Global Offensive news from around the scene. Dexerto's CSGO content focuses around huge names, such as: ZywOo, s1mple, dev1ce, JW, NiKo, electronic, BlameF, ropz, EliGE, dupreeh, syrsoN, Magisk, stavn, huNter-, yuurih, woxic, Xyp9x, jks & Hobbit, from huge orgs such as Team Vitality, NAVI, Astralis, NIP, Gambit Esports, Team Liquid, FaZe Clan, mousesports, BIG & OG. Join our growing CSGO community as we provide top quality Counter-Strike content from a variety of tournaments. Get involved in our KZbin Community polls, give us your opinions & start debates on either our community posts or via our video comment sections!
#CSGO #Dev1ce #NIP #CounterStrike #BLASTCSGO #PopFlash #NinjasInPyjamas #Astralis #Xyp9x #RichardLewis #Semmler #Thorin #PGLAntwerp #CSGOMajor
CHAPTERS:
0:00 - The End Of The Road For VP?!
14:36 - Too Much Hype About Movistar?
25:00 - Who Leaves CPH For Astralis?
33:07 - Astralis To Win NOTHING In 2022??
50:50 - WHERE IS DEVICE??!
1:02:41 - Ence To Upset The Big Boys?
Pop Flash: Is Karrigan the Best Leader Ever? | ESL Pro League Review: • Pop Flash: Is Karrigan...
The Making of Ropz: My Redemption After CHEATING Accusations: • The Making of Ropz: My...
Pop Flash: NiKo Has Dropped Off a Cliff! | ESL Pro League Review: • Pop Flash: NiKo Has Dr...
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Producer: Andrew Campion
Editor: Vincent Thuet

[@DEXERTOCSGO]

Do you think Astralis NEED to make changes to their roster? 🤔

[@donaldgracie]

Just replace xyp9x with some new talent and its good to go

[@ok-dy9sw]

@@donaldgracie bad move tbh. Xyp is still an important support for them.

[@bibyboy9085]

they dont NEED but it take more than blamef eaither hard carrying or noone carrying. farlig is a flex awper so not a fragger. xyp is actually fine, people need to stop comparing old astralis to current astralis

[@rhb4856]

@@bibyboy9085 Is flex awper the new support awper?

[@ItsAmirGh]

@@donaldgracie i honestly would take roej or someone else from cph flame Instant upgrade

[@nao__channel]

to me it seems pretty clear that device is just fully checked out and cant be arsed with nip, probably counting down the days until his contract expires

[@AnupamPatrapatanupam4]

Thorin speaks so passionately while putting down Astralis😂

[@parkervance3574]

I like the idea of like teams that are outside the top 5 making miracle runs. That being said, I'm talking about if say BIG pull out an insane run, or Furia just play out of there minds and win. I think those are good stories. But I don't think something like 9z winning the major is good for CSGO.

[@samuelbelko6469]

Doubt that,but it could be nice to bring more of SA region into csgo.

[@nmiller248]

Agreed. Seeing some essentially no name team win would kinda suck.

[@bipolarminddroppings]

I dunno, the Brazilians came out of nowhere back in the day and if they had won the major, instead of just making the top 8 (if I remember right), I think we would have found that pretty epic. It would come down to whether they were a legit team putting it all together or just a true miracle run that they never repeat.

[@M8Hundreds]

this is a good take

[@johnr4868]

@@bipolarminddroppings but even they were competing in tournaments and making runs before that MLG major. They had just came off back to back finals in DH Leipzig and IEM Kato against Navi and the dennis fnatic, a top 4 at a star series, again losing to that fnatic, with another 3 results in end of 15, 2nd at Faceit finals to fnatic and top 6 at pro league, losing to Navi, with a top 8 at IEM San Jose losing to Navi, so that's multiple top finishes at , losing only to the #1&2 teams in the world, in like 6 events in a row. I mean they were ranked #4 in the world right before that major, with a top 5 ranking for a full 2 months before Columbus

[@launders]

people still make this dog meat argument that the best team in the world is ruining the game. in every single era. they don’t realize their favorite team only made exciting roster moves because of them

[@adhirajdeshmukh6813]

Very True considering the sick roster changes that NAVI forced many orgs to make due to their apparent dominance at end of 2021.

[@DickinsonStrength]

C9 bought Gambit roster thoughts?

[@klauspedersen1047]

Excatly.

[@TheRealRamJ]

Copenhagen flames making the legends stage is pretty good get that stixker money and have hope

[@hansgerber8654]

tbf CHF is starting to look really interesting in this RMR

[@TheRealApproach]

true

[@lavalamp7129]

This show is great, always a good time thanks guys

[@MrJeanjean2009]

I just imagine the 5 Astralis players looking miserable, scattered around a giant bus like the ones they have in football. When actually Nikolaj Lyholm was only talking about airport shuttles lol.

[@DestinyApes]

thanks for the show

[@MorganvanDyk]

Love all your bants and love the pannel but I have to say that Im watching this just after CPHF have just gone legends in the Major and they 2-0 Nip. But I agree I don't know if they can keep this up against big teams all the time

[@sh1ro9]

Well group B is relatively easier than group A. Gambit with political issues, NiP and Astralis with roster problems, a struggling G2. CPH have been playing out of their minds but it would've been a lot harder to do the same thing in group A.

[@ehtlamzone2525]

@@sh1ro9 Also CPH have been known to do this and then fall flat later in the tournament. 🗿

[@hiimroo3120]

I was really hoping they bombed the qualifier to force a change but that isn't happening. Xyp needs to go unfortunately, huge respect to a legend of the game but time to move on and plan for the future.

[@hex7332]

Nope. The problem is that blamef is taking the role he played before while simultaneously not being as effective Xyp9x was. k0nfig was a step in right direction and blamef is two backwards.

[@hiimroo3120]

@@hex7332 xyp has been poor for a long time. Blame the has had far more impact than xyp was giving since like 2019. 1 good game in 6 isn't enough to justify the bad games

[@zettour.]

@@hiimroo3120 blameF's asset is just pure firepower though. Tactically, he's a detriment. So far, Astralis's strats have gone down the dumpster since blameF and ave took over for gla1ve. He also seems to still be uncomfortable with working with the rest of the team and resorted to his Complexity days where he works around his team instead. Xyp9x is the opposite problem. He provides all the support and auxiliary stuff pretty well. His firepower, or lack thereof, sinks him.

[@Ilovepie985]

Great show. I'm always looking forward to the banter it's perfect. Loved the Launders bit.

[@peepoclap9479]

Love the podcasts, tune in and drop and like every time you upload.

[@koonts7509]

This is very funny video. I watched with Baget and Zero and it really made us think!

[@annie8418]

That thorin demo idea is banger So banger

[@kren1252]

there goes the discussion on Copenhagen Flames

[@volvo89577]

Indeed. It didnt age very well. Beating the best version of NIP atm 2-0. I think they have a potential of a good run this major.

[@RLewisReports]

@@volvo89577 How is this the best version of NiP?

[@volvo89577]

@@RLewisReports with their current line up, on paper it's the best they have had in quite some time. What I love to see is CPH flames shut down haters/ critics from you guys. You really "flamed" them, nothing but a fluke team. Their window has gone. What does this say about nip now?

[@SIN4YOUx]

didnt realize I wasn’t subbed ty semmler

[@AK46_]

Why does Richard look so buff in the thumbnail 😂

[@PALbub]

Regarding Device Thorin is the ONLY credible voice who speaks the truth. I am so glad we have him in the industry. I celebrate diversity! Having a guy from a poor background working his way up and even having a diagnose of something which not many have - should make him a person the modern left are going to highlight.

[@TheRealApproach]

great content

[@stevenschomberger1465]

When popflash has its real roster 🔥🔥🔥

[@Steven-wx7zt]

“Playing by ear” -Thoorin😂

[@hackereports1128]

Finally!

[@felixknapp1763]

28:29 aged like milk

[@yungmrlin3244]

Great episode as always

[@Cxs1a3]

What happend to doublelift 2018? I don't follow league

[@TedstaTV]

[@NevilleFarkinBartos]

having device on the bench must be giving phzy a psychological edge at least, kid is probably 200% focus right now lol

[@hexhybrid]

Nip doing pretty decently without device they just need some time as players keep changing. For me 4 months out of action is way too long for a supposedly highly paid individual. If looking at a business/company perspective, I totally agree, if he needs more time then just say so, need 6 months off? Then make that official. Right now there's no clear info when he'll be ready and wouldn't be fair to the team if they qualify and he suddenly jumps in. Don't let bubzkji be a repeat case.

[@ArunKumar-bp5lo]

How many Major Xyp have Vs how many Thorin have??

[@TheEmperorDzerii]

Wdym where is he, he is still shooting Mission Impossible

[@bipolarminddroppings]

Luckyy should never have been put in that position. They've actually ruined any chance he had of becoming a tier1 player.

[@me.with.my.self.]

And so many players with that name, I know at least 4 Lucky

[@The_savvy_Lynx]

Disagree. Lucky had a chance most aspiring players (especially AWPers because you can only have 1 per team) will never get. Him not performing is not Astralis' fault.

[@FilipWizard]

At this point,i dont even understand what is Thorin saying.

[@epi1763]

astralis also has blameF and honestly with the squad he brought to the top they both can definetly strategize but definetly something in the roles or something isnt clicking because the potential of the team is pretty high.

[@InternetAntagonist]

Yea I’ve heard gla1ve and blame splits the IGL role on different maps ( e.g gla1ve will IGL on this map then blame will IGL on the next) so their team is struggling to adjust due to the difference of their strats

[@kenlo2410]

that is why I have the unpopular opinion of cutting blame for Valde if there's any chance in the future that he becomes available

[@Vogurt]

ive agreed with what ive heard so far

[@leavus]

semmler vbery gooood :)

[@DEXERTOCSGO]

very goooooood, very niceeeeee

[@reggielovestoast5747]

because here’s the thing

[@carstenown]

Device has main character vibes right now. It ain't all about you mate, give your fans and team some insight into what is going on so everyone can move on.

[@MCrelationz]

100% dude. I wont assume your situation and I understand everyone goes through tough life problems but at least let people know you are alive and whats going on. Him not giving us any update at all is kind of arrogant. You are one of the best players in one of the best games and you have an amazing huge fanbase. Speak to them

[@JoshuaHill182]

30:10 awkward when cop flames go 3-0 and get legends

[@Embrace7]

He isn't coming back? What kind of assumption is that even? Maybe he isn't back for NIP, but you talked as if he is gonna retire.

[@einarbakkerud3742]

He prbly is

[@MeNourovic]

I like the show !! Thank you guys

[@nishantnayak3792]

M4a4 is still OP, a $200 price drop is needed, after the price drop 50% of the people will start using the m4a4 again

[@aandersson650]

1: m4a1-s 2: no? You have bo idea what makes it op. Its the 4 shot kill to the outer body paired with having a silencer and low cost.

[@lohvrti]

@@aandersson650 yeah I feel like the lack of tracers and ability to body spam makes it OP for CT. Also is a really boring gun, because it just forces more smoke duels

[@ExZ1te]

@@lohvrti it's a laser weapon no need to compensate for recoil

[@ImaTip]

semmler gets tge deman fate that's fire

[@Majestic-sz3mq]

These Guys are talking as if they fucking put money in dev1ce’s pocket LOL . “Everybody needs to be happy mentally & physically”and then you’re like “this is not fair” ??

[@HyperCS2]

The CPH take by RL aged like a spoilt milk. :)

[@xDayl1ght]

@@h_n_k I agree but this isnt a online qualifier. this is offline.

[@hansgerber8654]

lets wait until the major

[@Monkeytownboss]

@@h_n_k it's true but RL really said "they are not a real team" like come on...

[@RAAZR-]

@@h_n_k Stop being a delusional RL fanboy. He can be wrong sometimes and this was one of them.

[@adhirajdeshmukh6813]

I mean, it's easy to say anything with hindsight. Tbh, they did surprise everyone on the official desk too.

[@shadowduds]

Im still asking myself why es3tag left astralis back in 2020, I rlly thought that was going to be a insane lineup

[@silashvidt120]

He did not leave, he was a standin

[@shadowduds]

@@silashvidt120 yeah but even zonic said he wanted to keep him as part of the core, making a 6 man roster

[@DRDSkidroW]

@@shadowduds bcs c9 knocked and astralis love money

[@matti7725]

If device even comes back, removing plopski would be a regressive move imo. He has really improved and plays an important support/entry role in this team. Playstyle/role-wise it would make more sense to remove es3tag, but that probably won't happen considering his contract etc.

[@M8Hundreds]

so sad for OG

[@paskaeditor6231]

Were they talking about them?

[@codelapiz]

-xyp migth fix astralis if blame becomes a lurk/support player, hes allready realy passive just without doing any valuable lurking or supporting. and thats astralis biggest problem. with xyp being washed being close secound

[@carstenown]

Xyp being washed is deff the biggest issue, somehow glaive is consistently outperforming whilst calling and being a new dad, idk xyp is just shit nowadays no other way to put it really. Fall from grace

[@Qayin]

Blame is a lurker so wtf are you on about?

[@codelapiz]

@@carstenown hes hard support, and if u watch him play he normally has unfavored duels, many teams have players with stats like this and are still top5, jacks, rpk(notice how removing him didnt make vitality better, and his replacement despite being realy good before was realy bad once he got rpks spots) my point is whats gonna happen when u replace xyp is his replacement is gonna be like kyojin. unless u find a guy that is confortable doing whay xyp dose, spoiler his name is perfecto and he dosent speak danish. blame on the other hand is making so many rounds 4v5 by not doing anything if eigther he plays another role where he has impact or u get a good lurker even olofmeiser would be a upgrade.

[@deepfxd8]

does xyp9x really gets 40 k a month ? damn

[@eliaspihlstrom3691]

I say give it some time, if Valde becomes available go for him (knowing astralis they wont unless hes free), if es3tag gets benched that could be a possibility although I think he’s washed now, Roej is also a good shout.

[@ImaTip]

THE RETURN OF AIZY

[@furytheredhead9682]

Good on you mate. Gave me a laugh.

[@adhirajdeshmukh6813]

How is es3tag washed lmao ?? And Roej literally plays different roles.

[@eliaspihlstrom3691]

@@adhirajdeshmukh6813 he’s putting up bad performances?

[@kenlo2410]

unpopular Opinion but: when Valde becomes available and joins Astralis I would get rid of blameF instead!

[@gutsandglory1934]

device is like hamilton in f1 a ghost xd

[@zicodennisvalentino748]

2 million dollar well spent

[@Spiceboy666]

semmler is looking BUFF!

[@christianlundgren364]

Does Dev1ce make his normal salary when he is not even playing with the team?

[@TopOnTops]

heroic is the best danish team but one day they play like the best in the world and one day lost againts liquid need consistent

[@aidanwood4826]

More Richard mid rant mouth open in the thumbnails please.

[@dsy6238]

why thorin mad

[@thjs87]

Honestly if Astralis was playing Lucky instead of Xyp i think it would work, because Lucky was actually a good rifler and also started doing some clutching and so on.

[@zettour.]

I don't think you know what Xyp9x does. Any Tier 5+ support would do better than Lucky at replacing Xyp9x.

[@thjs87]

@@zettour. Yeah true, but i mean if it have to be a danish 5+ support then i dont really see anyone who currently could replace Xyp? But i do think that replacing Xyp and Glaive might have to be the next step for Astralis, for replacing Glaive Snappi would be good i think, obviously Karrigan would be great by why should he ever want to leave Faze

[@zettour.]

@@thjs87 Problem with replacing Xyp9x is it doesn't really fix any of Astralis's major problems which is lack of firepower and poor strats. Plus, I don't think any support, including valde, can actually supplement Xyp9x's role, even if they provide more firepower. As for gla1ve, he's fine. By far the most consistent Astralis player. Strats are being done by blameF and ave, not him.

[@thjs87]

@@zettour. Ah okay, thought strats was being done by Glaive and Ave actually, thx for learning me something new. But maybe the poor T side strats also have something to do with Zonic´s departure from the team? Their T side is really lacking something. Also IF Konfig is not having a good game, their entry fragging is just not there since Duppe/Magisk left. I dunno what needs to be done to bring them back to tier 1, but they are for sure missing something.

[@zettour.]

@@thjs87 I'd say, as is, they have the players necessary. NiP, as long as dev1ce is off the server, has arguably a worse lineup than Astralis. I feel like it comes down to them being underutilized. blameF is hard lurking too much and leaving the team in limbo since only k0nfig and gla1ve can carry in straight gunfights. Xyp9x is doing too many things at once as a support entry. gla1ve needs to get his head back into the stratbook. Etc. Though, I think it also has to do with the negative impact of Lucky and how little time they've had to shake that off now that farlig is on the team. Maybe, given nothing but time, Astralis could form a better system with farlig that they just couldn't when Lucky was holding them back.

[@l.d.j.1341]

the bad news eagles take didn't age too well, did it?

[@yaroshiroki5472]

love launders but... poor lad can't hack the crack

[@jerseydriftingsouth7400]

I don’t spend as much time lurking csgo stuff now, but I’d be surprised to see people wanting to see no names vs big names, the pedigree allowance offered to veterans might show it more for orgs but at least I want to see these new super star abomination teams duke it out

[@incognisance4293]

Idk why but I just don’t like heroic. They’re serial chokers so it seems like they’re just a waste of space in the bracket.

[@hoangvuminh6436]

Nah hes ded, Astralis just has a room for their new Awper

[@kittuojha]

xyp needs to go from astralis. Farlig is fine. just trade xyp for some young upcoming talent or get valde/yekindar if they become available.

[@KeefeL]

Too bad that he's tied down for a while ('till 2025) and knowing Astralis, he's not getting released before the contract ends

[@kennymccormick1660]

thorin speaks nothing but fax

[@InternetAntagonist]

his takes on twitter are shíte though

[@kennymccormick1660]

@@InternetAntagonist i think he just uses twitter to rant

[@exile4474]

M4a1s is not overpowered. The newgen is ruining the game by complaining about nothing

[@Qayin]

Silver spotted

[@JDMDC2]

it has zero recoil and no tracers through smoke, and is cheaper then the a4 there is 0 reason to pick a a4, which kinda makes it op...

[@Cyanoh]

Another way to look at how bad Astralis is now, no one said their name when we sadly realised all the CIS squads would dip, Faze were the ones who were able to capitilise.

[@InternetAntagonist]

Yea it’s kinda sad how no matter how many trophies & achievements you get, you would still be irrelevant if you don’t perform like you used to.

[@gggg-no6rm]

Asralis got money why not pay good pro player

[@Qayin]

A1s just needs the same level of movement penalty and spray control as ak and I’d be fine with it. It’s just too bit friendly in its current state.

[@ghostx80x2]

52:27 Me talking to someone with emotional problems

[@ExZ1te]

Imao

[@DrengenKbh]

Pop Flash TRASH TALK Copenhagen Flames last games......25 games 3 loss. And they are ind the LEGENDS STAGE for the 2 time.

[@kapilsharmaWorld_uncensored]

Remember NAVI kept flamie and lost so many finals cos they failed the courage to kick him out? That one missing pieces cost them tournaments. Astra boys must kick out xyp & Glave allowing BlameF to builda new team from ashes.

[@einarbakkerud3742]

Gla1ve got a grip around Astralis balls. He controls the show

[@mindrover777]

@@einarbakkerud3742 exactly

[@keblorb]

BlameF said he doesn’t want to IGL and I don’t blame him. Xyp needs to go 100%, I’d hold on to Gla1ve a bit longer and see what he can do if he brings in a good support and with a better awper in farlig

[@m4a1snerfed]

m4a1s is overpowered and csgo devs don't care about balance therefore it's a waste of time to play csgo

[@Mimicry161]

wouldn't mind a slight a1s nerf tbh

[@Constitutional_MAsshole]

LOL device is playing FPL . such a joke

[@tomhumphries912]

Nah thorins take on device is dumb. If u need time off u need time off. Up to him and his company to decide what happens. If he doesn't play qualifiers he shouldn't play major tho

[@xxMyNaMeIsBeAsTxx]

That's pretty much what he said? It's mismanaging of expectations and weird messaging from the org that seems very unfair to the current roster.

[@BratShemi]

Bad news eagles are mad underrated.They can beat anyone.

[@Infrarojoo]

RIP DEV1CE

[@Xavyer13]

I'm leaving this comment because I agree

[@andrewe165]

“i don’t see astralis beating nip” *astralis DOMINATES nip 2-0 a week later* 😂 keep talking

[@natec5373]

How is cheering for an underdog neo-liberal? 😂

[@Stefan_s_5]

who the fuck is lewis and why does he speak about device like that

[@peter_88]

Cuckv1ce?

[@ferenovigrad]

Just sad

[@sentrick1482]

What did he say that was out-of order and not true about device

[@xootttv7590]

Can't watch for longer than 30s after Richard starts talking. Sorry

[@johanwillemse3419]

No one cares, bye

[@xootttv7590]

@@johanwillemse3419 BYE FANBOY

[@trocoplaytv1254]

@@xootttv7590 cry more

[@maragossep3492]

RL might have had some truth in some of his points about Astralis (K.Hvidt), but he steps far into areas he is fairly clueless about. It's almost like he the entire team & staff shit in front of his front door. It's super biased, and as such, completely unreliable journalism.

[@RLewisReports]

Gonna guess you are an Astralis fan. See if you can figure out which one of us is actually bias.

[@themightygnome8881]

Grown men shoudnt be saying something that sounds like Kasper "Shit". You are supposed to be adult and professional analyst. Not being toxic children. Grow up....

[@sentrick1482]

They are able to swear and show passion its not called being toxic that they care about the game and care for the players that aren't top players. They made a good point that if device comes back he cant just turn up for the major when someone worked hard to get the team in the major and now he's sitting on the bench

[@RLewisReports]

I'll say what I want. Seethe more.

[@themightygnome8881]

@@RLewisReports Go outside and get some fresh air mate. Maybe you can meet some real adults out there and see you are acting like a child. Being in stream chat, clearly have giving you a work injury in your behavior

[@RLewisReports]

@@themightygnome8881 You're literally crying over someone using a joke surname about someone who works for the org you are overinvested in. If you are a "real adult," over 21, you have a mental health disorder.

[@camplson]

Device kicked by nip. His inventory show hints, nip skins all gone

[@MMSTQTECH]

And astralis beat nip 16-8 and 16-1. These analysts are just not good anymore and are toxic too

[@w90213kjfdjn]

m4a1s is overpowered and csgo devs don't care about balance therefore it's a waste of time to play csgo