DeKay Mailbag Part 3: The Astralis Situation, Player Salaries, and the Future of North America

This is Part 3 of DeKay's monthly mailbag series where he answers questions regarding Counter-Strike: Global Offensive sent in on Twitter.

Hard to say at this point now that they have more than one spot to fill. It really comes down to who is available for them and how much Gen.G is willing to spend in this climate. Too early to say just yet.

Now that the move has been officially announced, they are obviously seeking a replacement for a head coach. I don't have any names for you just yet, there are still a couple moving parts. Both jkaem and jks have offers from other teams, I can say that. Whether they actually end up transferring or not is unknown at this point.

It is my belief that 100 Thieves eventually transition to a team based in Europe. I'm not sure if that means they'll have more European players or not, but a move like that likely generates changes within as well. Something to keep an eye on.

I don't know for sure, but I'm pretty sure the six-man roster thing was short-lived or something that was mentioned publicly prior to woxic going to the bench. I haven't heard anything about them grabbing another players but it's totally possible I suppose. Haven't heard anything about a coach but they'll almost certainly need one.

Now that floppy isn't staying with them, I can only imagine he will end up accepting an offer of some kind. He is just about one of the best available players on the market right now in North America.

Along with the rest of the industry, I expect a bit of consolidation on that front for most teams. Huge organizations will likely continue to offer really high salary but below that, I just don't expect it in this climate. The number of top organizations that can offer the highest salaries isn't getting any higher, in fact, it's getting smaller.

Given that Na'Vi has historically tried to avoid playing online as much as possible leading up to this era, I think they will only make a move if something is really bad. In my opinion, it would take an attitude problem or a bunch of last-place finishes for them to make a change right now.

How could it not be uncertain? Tons of players have left to Valorant and underneath Tier 1 (Liquid/Evil Geniuses/Chaos/Gen.G) what is there to really feel great about? It's extremely condensed with hardly anyone drawing attention to their play. The next year or so will be rough.

Nothing to note lately, things like this move very slow. I'll be honest, everything that has happened thus far leaves me feeling like there is no hope. Valve's stance makes no sense to me. His ban is so unbelievably stupid in every way.

Not a single one that I'm aware of.

The Astralis situation should seem strange because it is strange. There is more to that story than meets the eye and I've been working for months on bringing it to the public. Keep an eye out.

While that makes sense in theory, it just isn't realistic due to the contract teams have signed with ESL that is in effect until 2022. So until then, I just don't see anyone moving over unless organizations within Flashpoint buy or build better teams. Giant transfers like that don't happen every day so it will be a slow process.

I do think over time that teams will recognize the value Flashpoint offers from a business and player perspective.

I think the punishment he received makes sense, given that he didn't report it. It's the whole reduced sentence thing for all coaches that I really don't agree with.