Stake and Astralis Announce Multi-Year Counter-Strike Partnership

Stake has officially signed a multi-year deal to become the official betting partner of Astralis, the legendary Danish Counter-Strike organization.

This new sponsorship was launched to coincide with the start of ESL Pro League Season 23. With the Online Stage already underway, a 2-0 Astralis victory against 3DMAX saw the team advance to Stage 2 with a 3-1 winning record as they look ahead to the LAN Finals starting on March 13.

The timing and nature of the deal are also related to the news that Stake has acquired its official Danish gambling license last week. The new Danish version of Stake is now live at Stake.dk. Partnering with the biggest esports brand in Denmark is their way of entering this new market with a bang.

Astralis remains one of Counter-Strike’s most successful teams ever. The Danish organization has claimed four Major titles in its run:

• ELEAGUE Major (Atlanta 2017)
• FACEIT Major (London 2018)
• IEM Major (Katowice 2019)
• StarLadder Major (Berlin 2019)

They made history by being the only team to ever win three consecutive Majors (London, Katowice, and Berlin), a feat that cemented their era-defining legacy.

But with the last title coming in 2019 and all four occurring during the CS:GO era, Astralis will be looking to win their first Major in the Counter-Strike 2 era.

After years of fielding an all-Danish lineup, Astralis made a major pivot in January 2026, transitioning to an international roster. The current active lineup consists of:

• Rasmus “HooXi” Nielsen (Denmark) – In-Game Leader
• Jakob “jabbi” Nygaard (Denmark) – Rifler
• Victor “Staehr” Staehr (Denmark) – Rifler
• Love “phzy” Smidebrant (Sweden) – AWPer
• Gytis “ryu” Glušauskas (Lithuania) – Rifler

Stake is no stranger to Counter-Strike. In July 2025, they announced a massive seven-figure, multi-year partnership with Team Vitality, debuting the brand at IEM Cologne. Vitality was largely considered the best team in the world at the time, fresh off victories at the IEM Dallas and the BLAST.tv Austin Major.

Vitality went on to win the StarLadder Budapest Major in December 2025, securing back-to-back Major titles and cementing their name in the Counter-Strike history books.

Team Vitality lifting the trophy after winning the StarLadder Budapest Major in December 2025

Because both Astralis and Team Vitality compete at the highest level of Tier 1 European Counter-Strike, fans may see these two cross paths in tournaments. This sets the stage for a “Stake Derby.”

Beyond Astralis and Vitality, Stake has built an extensive portfolio of partners across gaming, traditional sports, and pop culture. As of early 2026, their active major sponsorships include:

• Astralis (CS2)
• Team Vitality (CS2)
• StarLadder (Tournament organizer)
• Everton F.C. (English Premier League)
• UFC (Official betting partner)
• X Games (Exclusive action sports partnership)
• Iker Casillas (Legendary goalkeeper)
• Drake (Musician/Rapper)
• Sergio Agüero (Former footballer)
• Israel Adesanya (UFC Fighter)
• Alex Pereira (UFC Fighter)
• Adin Ross (Livestreamer)

It has been a busy start to 2026 for Stake. As mentioned above, they secured a Danish gambling license, launched Stake.dk, and saw a betting spike during the Super Bowl. Additionally, in January, Stake became the exclusive online casino and sports betting partner for the newly formed X Games League (XGL).

As part of the agreement, Stake’s sister streaming platform, Kick.com, holds the exclusive rights to livestream all four annual XGL global events. This multi-year deal will also bring live, in-play betting odds directly to X Games broadcasts.

Stake has launched the “Stake x Astralis – Best Odds” promotion to promote this news sponsorship. This promotions declares that Stake will match the best odds in the industry for the “Match Winner – Two-Way” market for every Astralis match at the ESL Pro League 23.

Discover more of the best Counter-Strike 2 betting sites.

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