Following Astralis ’ tough defeat to Vitality at IEM Cologne 2025, star AWPer Nicolai "Device" Reedtz reflected on the match in a post-game interview with Bo3.gg. Device opened up about the team's missed opportunities, their struggles to close out advantageous rounds, and the challenges on Nuke and Overpass. He also discussed Astralis ’ current mindset, their preparation for the next match against FURIA Esports , and what needs to change going forward.

Hello, Device. This was a tough loss for you. What are you feeling right now after this game?
I don't know. I think we had our chance today. I don't think we can be really happy with how everything went down. We had a lot of opportunities, a lot of clutches from them. Just not really happy at the moment.

You made a strong comeback on the first map but fell just short. What do you think was the main reason you couldn't push Nuke into overtime?
In the last round, we made a ballsy call and tried a lobby aggression, and that didn’t pan out. I think that jabbi feels like he should have gotten them. We tried to play our chances. Other than that, in some of the rounds we lost on the CT side, we had decent situations. We knew what they were doing, so we just lost to ourselves. In my opinion, we had the opportunity—like in one of the rounds where they went under and in another where we could have pushed ramp—and we just didn’t do it. We lost because of that.

Do you feel like there’s anything you need to change on Nuke before the next match? Maybe some strategies or positions?
I don’t think so. I think we just need to finish the rounds where we have the advantage. We didn’t do that today, especially on Nuke. It’s just misplaced.

Overpass was a surprising pick from Vitality . Have you prepared this map?
We practiced it a little bit. We were in Serbia last week for a tournament without Overpass, so we haven’t had as much time as others. But it’s a map we feel pretty confident on, where we can do some good things. We lost the second round on the T side, and even with staging, it was just bad. Then the economy was ruined for a lot of rounds. We were okay with it—we actually thought it was a good chance for us, and we even had some good rounds on the T side.

How are you preparing Overpass right now? Since not many are playing it yet, and there aren’t new CS2 demos, are you watching CS:GO demos or using your own ideas?
We’ve already played it a bit in 2024. We’re mixing in players from back then with the ones on the team now. It has been played a little both online in Tier 2 and here at the playing stage. You just have to rely on the routine from before, and I think we’re able to do that. A lot of the rounds Vitality played today were also from CS:GO - CS2 early, so that’s just how it is right now.

Vitality won a lot of rounds on the T side. When you were on the CT side, what was the main reason why?
On the CT side, I don’t think they got that much—they had 8 rounds on the T side, if that’s what you meant. But on the T side, they just dominated the economy. They played a lot of standard gimmick rounds. We had some good reads, but we just didn’t finish the rounds. It’s a bit like Nuke, where we have three guys holding a spot they’re executing into, we know they’re coming, but we’re not finishing it. That’s just not good enough.

I know you’re not in a good mood right now, but what will you do to get back into a better one for the next game?
Right after a loss, you can’t be too heavy. We’ll have some team talks, watch the game, and after that, probably relax—go for some walks, eat some food together, and look at FURIA Esports , who we’re playing tomorrow. Maybe hit the beach and just take an hour or two. Then you’re reset.