Astralis confirmed that they have reached an agreement with Cloud9 regarding the transfer of Patrick "es3tag" Hansen. The deal will be effective after Dreamhack Open Fall, which started this morning. According to the CEO of Astralis, Anders Horsholt, the transfer is "one of the biggest transfers on record". However, the financial aspects of the agreement will not be disclosed by any parties.
According to es3tag, "I love the ideas behind the project, and I believe it will be a team to consider in the top of CS for the years to come. While I am sad to leave Astralis and all the people here, I look forward to the challenge in Cloud9." Cloud9, with its now completed roster, will debut at Betway Nine to Five 5, a $50,000 tournament that will run from October 26 to November 4.
The most shocking detail of this news is the size of the transfer. According to the CEO of Astralis, it's pretty large. I think this was a great business move for Astralis. They know Cloud9 is willing to pay the price, and they can overrate es3tag, forcing the organization to dish out more cash. I say overrate because even though Es3tag has been performing relatively well, he's only played 36 official matches. While I stand beside my claim that he is a great player, there is no doubt Astralis were able to squeeze some more cash out of Cloud9 by calling upon es3tag's rating.
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