Top 20 players of 2019: dupreeh (16)

Consistent contributions to Astralis' victories earned Peter "⁠dupreeh⁠" Rasmussen the 16th place on the top 20 players of 2019 list, powered by Xtrfy and LOOT.BET, seeing the Dane earn a top 20 placing for the sixth time in his career.

Top 20 players of 2019: Introduction

dupreeh is a well-known figure to Counter-Strike fans new and old. The Dane transitioned over from CS: Source as Global Offensive was released and got a place in CPH Wolves as early as 2013. In that team, he played alongside some of the established figures of the Danish Source scene such as Henrik "⁠FeTiSh⁠" Christensen and Nicolaj "⁠Nico⁠" Jensen, but also linked up with two players that are his teammates till this day: Nicolai "⁠device⁠" Reedtz and Andreas "⁠Xyp9x⁠" Højsleth.

"It's both funny, amazing and a bit incredible that we've stuck together for so many years, and that we're probably the longest standing trio in the game right now. I don't think any of us imagined us sticking together for so long, especially not at the beginning of the game, as contracts and teams were split up faster than you could imagine."

"We just have some very unique things going. I think we have always been very good at being on the same page, wanting to play the same way, having three very different roles and strengths within the game, and we’ve always had some really good fundamentals to build a strong contender for titles. It has all been very natural, and I am happy to have won and shared so many things with these guys."

"Adding gla1ve and Magisk was certainly the icing on the cake, and the five of us are just working so well together. It's a pleasure to be around every single one on the team. We’ve all grown within the game, as it has taken a direction with more professionalism, and it has surely made us all more mature in a way as people too. Sticking around with the same core for a long time helps develop skills that you simply can’t acquire overnight."

Success came quickly as the 20-year-old dupreeh, who was not an established player before joining CPH Wolves, finished 2013 as the 18th best player in the world, pushing his team to numerous playoff finishes — including one at the first CS:GO Major, DreamHack Winter 2013. dupreeh improved on that in the next year, finishing as #16 in 2014, but his team — representing Dignitas at the time —, was unable to break their "semi-final curse" until 2015, when they became TSM and replaced FeTiSh with Finn "⁠karrigan⁠" Andersen.

Under new leadership, dupreeh had his best year yet, standing out as a world-class entry fragger, and TSM went on to win five tournaments and claim a number of other high finishes in 2015. After being ranked as the 12th best player of that year, dupreeh and his squad had a tough 2016, the year they founded and started representing Astralis. After a respectable start and a 3-4th finish at the MLG Columbus Major, the Danish squad faltered and had a number of disappointing finishes including a 3-4th place at the domestic Power-LAN and a 7th place at ESL One New York, after which karrigan departed the lineup. Subsequently, Dignitas overtook Astralis in the rankings, taking the title of the kings of Denmark way from dupreeh and co. for the first time since the core came together in 2013.

The team's struggles affected dupreeh, who also had to adapt to playing alongside Markus "⁠Kjaerbye⁠" Kjærbye. The young star joined Astralis in May of that year, causing dupreeh to give up a lot of his roles and play as an aggressive lurker instead of an entry fragger. dupreeh still managed to end 2016 with a respectable 1.12 LAN rating but missed out on a Top 20 placing for the first time, ending his three-year streak.

"I felt like I was letting my team down once, and that was back in 2016, which was my only active year that I didn't make the top 20 list. I had struggles in my personal life and that simply made me a very bad teammate and eventually it affected the whole team. I look back at that every time I feel like I can do better or should've done better in some situations, to remind myself not to go back to that. I have certainly grown in many ways since 2016, so I’m confident that it was a one-time performance.

"I worked my way around my issues with a very close partnership with zonic, and our back-in-the-day sports psychologist Mia. Without adding too many details, it wasn’t my fundamental skills in CS that lacked, but my mindset, focus and concentration. I worked very hard for months, and eventually winning the ELEAGUE Major helped me get back what I had lost."

Things took a turn for the better when Lukas "⁠gla1ve⁠" Rossander joined the squad in place of karrigan, seeing Astralis pick up their first tournament win after a year (ECS Season 2), followed by becoming Major winners at ELEAGUE Atlanta 2017. While dupreeh wasn't the main factor behind the Major win, he had great consistency throughout 2017 and even delivered in his short stint as the main AWPer (filling in for the absent device), which earned him a new personal high - finishing 10th in the top players list of that year.

Astralis had troubles in the second half of 2017, with FaZe and SK taking over as the dominant teams of the year and Gambit stealing away the PGL Krakow Major to limit the Danes to just three trophies and eight top-4 finishes for the year.

A move which was described as a backstab by Astralis players happened at the start of 2018, when Kjaerbye made an unexpected move to North. Astralis were left scrambling, deciding to pick up Emil "⁠Magisk⁠" Reif in the end.

As we all now know, that move ended up creating the most dominant team in the history of the game. Astralis won 10 events in 2018, including a Major and the Intel Grand Slam, and broke numerous records. On a personal level, the arrival of Magisk allowed dupreeh to return to his natural, entry fragging position, which resulted in his best year yet: earning eight EVP mentions, his first-ever MVP award, and finishing as the fifth-best player in the world.

dupreeh displayed constant growth as a player. He was 18th in 2013, 16th in 2014, 12th in 2015, 10th in 2017, and 5th in 2018, so his goal for 2019 was to continue moving upwards, hoping for a top 3 — even though he was aware of how difficult it was going to be, especially as an entry fragger. Despite not being able to achieve his goal in 2019, with his sixth top 20 finish, dupreeh has joined a handful of super-consistent players that have been able to deliver an elite level year after year.

"I think my passion for video games, and CS especially, has always made me work hard to achieve things, and being consistent is in my book the key to becoming an elite competitor, not only for a small margin of time but for a very long timespan.

"Working hard reflects consistency, and combining that with raw talent, I have managed to find a work ethic that works for me personally, despite playing with different teammates, having different roles, and working through whatever 'crisis' I may encounter along the road. I still, on a daily basis, work on smoothing out the edges on how to become a better player in all possible aspects."

Frustration marked the start of 2019 for Astralis, who attended iBUYPOWER Masters as a warmup event before the upcoming IEM Katowice Major. The event in Los Angeles, California, was marred with issues from start to finish, and ended with Liquid grabbing their first BO3 victory over the Danish side. dupreeh struggled individually, finishing as the least effective player of his team with a 0.89 rating - his lowest since the ECS Season 1 Finals in June 2016.

But that event wasn't all that important for Astralis. All eyes were set on IEM Katowice, a Major they would need to win to secure back-to-back Majors and equal the records of LG/SK and fnatic, as well as give the team's quartet their third Major, which would level them with Jesper "⁠JW⁠" Wecksell, Robin "⁠flusha⁠" Rönnquist and Markus "⁠pronax⁠" Wallsten. After their dominant 2018, these were the goals Astralis set for themselves - besting their current opposition wasn't enough, they needed to take on the historic greats as well.

It wasn't going to be that simple, though. A few days before the Major, as everyone was shutting off distractions and getting more and more immersed in Counter-Strike, real-life reared its ugly head for dupreeh:

"It was a very turbulent period in my life. The night before we were supposed to leave for Katowice I received the news that my father was set to pass away within 48 hours. I visited my father the day before I received the news, and at that point, he could barely talk or recognize me from my brother. However, I managed to talk to him about the upcoming Major, what we were expecting and how practice had been, and even though he probably didn’t understand it, he managed to mumble 'I want you to go play no matter what'. So when he fell unconscious during the night and I sat there by his bed the following night, my mind was already made up that I was going to play in Katowice, regardless.

"He passed a day and a half later, and I managed to take part in the funeral preparations and be there with the closest family for a final goodbye. The night after, I was on my way to Poland. In some way I was really happy that he passed away before I left, so I could take part in everything with my family, but also not to let my team down, forcing them to play with zonic.

"We’ve always been very open in my family, and even years before that night, we had an open discussion at home about what I would do if he suddenly passed while I was out playing a tournament. In certain ways, I was prepared for the bad news, even though you can never fully prepare for it. Ironically, we had joked about it culminating with a Major, so there I was."

Being at the Major physically was just one part, perhaps the easier part of what someone in this situation needs to deal with. The mental aspect is what would break many, but dupreeh wasn't going to falter: after all, since his father was diagnosed with cancer in 2010, Counter-Strike was his way to escape the darkness. So why not use it one last time?

"The funeral was set to take place two days after the grand final, so I tried to park all my feelings at home, but also be very open to my teammates that I was mourning the loss of my father, but I would do everything I could to play well in the tournament. In some way, it was great to get my mind away and focus on something I knew I was good at. When I sat down on stage, I knew what to do, and I knew what I had practiced for. All of a sudden, it just meant a whole lot more on a personal level, so I tried to use it as fuel to perform.

"I didn’t really follow any routines, I just took one day at a time and one match at a time, and eventually, we stood there, raising the trophy and I couldn’t have been more proud of myself and my team."

The 26-year-old rifler ended up playing one of his best events of the year in Katowice, turning up from day one. Astralis cruised through the group stage and then mauled Ninjas in Pyjamas, MIBR, and ENCE in the playoffs to lift their third Major trophy, with dupreeh's 1.24 rating (1.31 in playoffs) and standout T-side play netting him an EVP mention as well. The big goal was achieved, despite all of the personal difficulties, and then the emotions came flowing out on stage.

After Katowice, Astralis flew to BLAST Sao Paulo and claimed another trophy, before slowing down their tournament schedule. Skipping IEM Sydney, DreamHack Masters Dallas, and StarSeries Season 7 in Shanghai, while attending BLAST Miami and Madrid, saw criticism arise and the nickname "BLASTralis" attached to the Danish team. To make it worse, they were unable to win either of the two tournaments, with dupreeh struggling in Miami as well as the grand final in Madrid (0.70 rating) where they were defeated by ENCE and lost their 31-map winning streak on Nuke.

"I obviously still had to find my place in my new situation, but I wouldn’t say I lacked the desire to win, or lacked motivation, I think I had just fueled all of my energy into winning Katowice. The game had also taken a new turn with the AUG meta, a meta I never really mastered, and I felt my struggles as an entry fragger for the first time in years. My strengths as a player really shifted and taking straight-up raw duels was just so difficult. I had to rethink my approach to the game, and that surely took its toll on my form and confidence."

After a fairly inactive period, things started to heat up for Astralis as ECS Season 7 Finals, EPL Season 9 Finals, and ESL One Cologne were set to take place in June and early July. These events were about to decide if Astralis was really slumping or if the BLAST events were a write-off.

Two defeats to FURIA at ECS handed Astralis their first group stage exit since the ELEAGUE Boston Major in 2018, while EPL saw them suffer BO3 defeats to both NRG and Liquid - with dupreeh being underwhelming in both series, finishing all six maps with a below-average rating.

"I would really be lying if I said I wasn’t frustrated and disappointed. I don’t think the loss to Liquid at EPL struck me too much, apart from the natural frustration of losing. What mattered to me was the fact that what we had achieved in 2018 was unique, and I was looking at a team we had beaten so many times dominate everything, and they were about to break several records we had set. I also knew that the team to stop them was us, and since we didn’t deliver good CS at that moment, they simply conquered everything. They made some incredible results and the lightning-fast Intel Grand Slam was very impressive.

"Losing the #1 spot in the world was tough, after so many months. However, we were about to prove that we could get back up there, which actually is the harder part. Get knocked down, get beaten up, but get up and be the best again."

Things looked up at Cologne, where dupreeh was one of the standouts as Astralis rolled BIG, fnatic, and Ninjas in Pyjamas, reaching the semi-final. There, an inspired Mathieu "⁠ZywOo⁠" Herbaut stopped them early, not allowing the Danes a chance to get their hands on an ESL One Cologne trophy, a rare one still missing in their cabinet. Despite dupreeh's impressive tournament (1.23 rating, 1.27 impact), Astralis was usurped and Liquid went on to win the tournament and claim the Intel Grand Slam title.

"I will win Cologne eventually, so yeah, I don’t really mind. (giggles)"

"Nah, it sucked, obviously, but we can’t perform always. I just want that trophy for the collection. I think it’s the only type of trophy we haven’t really conquered yet."

Astralis went to the player break early, taking what many thought was too much time off before the second Major of the year. In late August, as the StarLadder Berlin Major kicked off, Astralis had played just 23 official games in the last three months, with their last tournament, ESL One Cologne, being almost two months ago.

At this Major, the aim was something no one had yet achieved: for Astralis to win their fourth Major, and the third one back-to-back. They were outsiders to the North American powerhouse, who even added a victory at IEM Chicago after securing the Intel Grand Slam, and seemed unstoppable.

As the event kicked off, Astralis suffered another group stage loss to NRG, but got to the playoffs without any issues. That is where dupreeh showed his best form (1.24 rating in playoffs vs. 1.02 in groups), helping Astralis to victories over Liquid and NRG, as well as spurring on the grand final domination over AVANGAR. For a third time in a row, Astralis swept the Major playoffs without losing a map, and made history as the most accomplished Major team in CS:GO.

"I'm very proud of what we have achieved. I love having unique achievements to my team's name. We had that with the Intel Grand Slam, but Liquid had other thoughts. Now we have it with four Major titles, and three in a row. It was an amazing thing to win after a few months with no good results. I think it ignited a spark in us - it made us believe again after a tough couple of months with a lot of bashing from the community and also ourselves, as we always aim to win."

Everyone likes winners, so logically, all the criticism about Astralis from earlier in the year died down after the StarLadder Major. Many were ready to accept them as the #1 team again, but just after making the move from NRG to Evil Geniuses, Peter "⁠stanislaw⁠" Jarguz and co. once again got the upper hand on gla1ve and co., beating them twice at ESL One New York. dupreeh was the best performer for the Danish team at the event with a 1.10 rating, earning his fourth EVP mention of the year, before he dropped in form at the two events close to home: DreamHack Masters Malmö (1.00 rating) and BLAST Pro Series Copenhagen (0.95 rating).

"Copenhagen is still a debate. It’s disappointing, but at the same time it is an amazing feeling to play in front of the crowd and give them a good experience. I think we will make a few adjustments coming into the tournament preparations next year. Let’s see how it turns out. "

Astralis finished both events with underwhelming results, however, Liquid did too, which meant that the final stretch of tournaments would decide who would claim the throne at the end of the year. The Danes started it by conquering IEM Beijing without dropping a map - a tournament where dupreeh had a strong, 1.13 rating, but wasn't even close to the top performers in his team. The form continued at ECS Season 8 Finals, where he was green across the board, supporting device and Magisk for his fifth and final EVP nod of the year, and another trophy for his team.

Everything was set up for another title at ESL Pro League Season 10 Finals in Odense after Astralis beat Liquid in the group stage and were leading 14-8 on the last map of the series against MOUZ, but it wasn't meant to be. karrigan's men made the comeback, leaving dupreeh with another frustrating result on home-soil.

"I never like losing. As a very competitive person, it is what I hate the most. I can’t and won’t take anything away from defeats to EG, fnatic, and mousesports. They played better than we did, and deserved it all. The matches, however, when I think back, felt off. Communication wasn't on point and the decision-making mid-round, from all of us, wasn’t on point.

"We have those matches like any other team does too. It is what happens. Odense was probably the worst. Not meeting the expectations from fans and ourselves was disappointing, but we will get it eventually like we did last year! Just wait!"

Bringing the year to a close was the BLAST Global Final in Bahrain, where once again everything was pointed towards the Liquid - Astralis rivalry. The Danes ended up beating their North American rivals twice (making it four BO3 wins from the last three tournaments) to consolidate their place at the top, and despite all of their struggles, finish 2019 as the best team of the year.

With that being done, reclaiming the #1 spot without roster changes is another unprecedented achievement Astralis have to their name.

"[Why are we the exception?] We work hard. We have five unique players, both personality-wise but also in-game. We have a unique coach and a very unique work ethic in the team. The team behind Astralis is doing a phenomenal job helping us maintain focus. I think we are just extremely dedicated and talented. We have very special team chemistry, that you can’t copy.

"I think we believe in the process more than anyone, and we work hard to always stay ahead of our competitors in all aspects of the game. We take time off when people need time off to not burn out, and we are good at fixing issues when they occur.

dupreeh shined at the BLAST Pro Series Global Final, boasting a 1.27 rating which netted him his first MVP medal of the year, the second one of his career. The four final events of 2019, which dupreeh finished with a rating of 1.10 or higher, were, in the end, crucial to his top 20 placing, the sixth one from seven years.

When he ended 2018 as the 5th best player in the world, dupreeh explained his visual way of tracking personal progress: "I see myself as billboard on which I add sticky notes all the time with things I want to learn and what I want to achieve, and I slowly peel them off as I get better". So we asked him which notes he removed and which ones he added going into 2020:

"I certainly removed a few sloppy ones in-game, in terms of mistakes and such.

"I removed my fear of losing my father, and my worries about what impact it could have on my form.

"However, I think a lot of them will stay in terms of winning and personal goals. I can’t peel off 'Win both Majors' because I want to win all the Majors I participate in. At the same time, I have personal goals of breaking into the top 3 of this list eventually, so I hope I can achieve that before it's too late!"

Why was dupreeh the 16th best player of 2019?

What set dupreeh apart from the competition that ranked behind him were his numerous good showings which resulted in one MVP and five EVP awards in 2019, alongside a couple of performances which came very close to EVP territory, such as at the StarLadder Berlin Major and IEM Beijing.

He was also a highly consistent contributor for Astralis, averaging a KAST of 72.5% (14th overall), and rarely having bad maps - he earned a 0.85 or higher rating on 86% of the maps he played.

What stopped dupreeh from placing higher was the fact that he was rarely the key figure in his team's success. He was the Player of the Map only 13 times during the whole year, the lowest of the top 20, and was only once really in contention for an MVP, at BLAST Pro Series Global Finals, which he ended up winning. That leads to the conclusion that his peaks weren't high enough to place further up on the list.

" [Am I satisfied with my individual display?"] Both yes and no. I am grateful to continue my streak by making the list, but I would’ve loved to see myself higher. However, there's only one person to blame - and that's me. Stats speak for themselves I guess. (laughs)

"It's been a very competitive year and a year with a lot of personal interference. There was an AUG-meta I never mastered, and now the SG-meta, which I surely haven’t mastered either. I like my trusted AK. It has been really hard to find a path to take as an entry fragger I feel, all the zoom-guns have proven to be hard to take straight up duels against.

"So, in hindsight, I am just happy that I made the list, but would’ve loved to have done better. This year I will try to achieve my goal of making top 3, but I will always be satisfied by just making the list, especially taking into consideration how many amazing players this game has produced so far."

Bold prediction

We asked dupreeh for his bold prediction for next year, and after naming Rasmus "⁠raalz⁠" Steensborg, Russel "⁠Twistzz⁠" Van Dulken, and Ismail "⁠refrezh⁠" Ali in the past, this time he selected MAD Lions' Lucas "⁠Bubzkji⁠" Andersen as a player that could break into the top 20 next year.

Lucas "⁠Bubzkji⁠" Andersen

"I think Bubzkji has been showing good signs with MAD Lions, so it could be an interesting year for him to take the next step! I don’t know him too well, so my prediction is solely from spectating or playing against their team."

Watch HLTV Confirmed S04E03 to find out more about Bubzkji, the 21-year-old Dane that picked up his first MVP award at the V4 Future Sports Festival last year.

Stay tuned to our Top 20 players of 2019 ranking and take a look at the Introduction article to learn more about how the players were selected. This year's ranking is supported by:

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