Sashi doubles down on Asia VRS move with chelleos signing

Sashi has committed to at least a season of Asia VRS, stunning the scene further with the acquisition of Kiwi Michael "chelleos" Hawkins in the early hours of Oct. 9.

The embattled Danish organisation revealed the New Zealand AWPer and IGL (and not Australian, as per Sashi's erroneous announcement) as their newest signing today, set to replace veteran sniper Frederik "acoR" Gyldstrand.

This sees Sashi form a new Asia core in Europe with Aussie duo Tynan "TjP" Purtell and Jordan "Hatz" Bajic, who joined the squad earlier this week, and Anton "Anlelele" Huynh, whose nationality was confirmed as Vietnamese by HLTV.

We've also now begun hearing from members of Sashi's Danish lineup that were forced out by the organisation's decision to head south. Mikkel "MistR" Thomsen thanked Sashi in a tweet this morning, but said he was "happy [we] mutually agreed to part ways, allowing me to step away from this crazy situation."

Casper "Cabbi" Jensen said on Oct. 5 that he was "not sure how to feel about this one, it's a bit of a weird situation" in his outgoing tweet, adding he wasn't sure what his future held in CS.

The Aussies' acquisition and Anlelele's nationality switch on Tuesday ultimately forced Valve into action, altering the VRS rulebook to prevent late-season region swapping attempts, ending Sashi's hopes of qualifying for the PGL Singapore Major.

Starting from scratch, Sashi mathematically has a slim chance of making it to Singapore. Otherwise, they'll build their VRS portfolio up for next season, culminating in the Buenos Aires Major in mid-2027.

Chelleos has long been touted as one of Oceania's best and brightest, and is constantly referred to as one of the region's hardest workers. After stints with Athletico and madlikewizards, he helmed the Rooster project through 2020 before returning in 2022.

He's been there ever since, and while many players have come and gone under his tenure, most have spoken highly of his work ethic and ability. Chelleos is currently one of OCE's highest-rated players in 2026, averaging a 1.26 HLTV rating over 125 maps this year.

• Read more: chelleos: "We can't speed up the process playing three scrims a night in Australia"

Sashi's new squad will, at this stage, debut at Stake Pulse Beat III on Oct. 12, although without a core that they registered with, they may be forced to miss the event.

Sashi is now:

• Michael "chelleos" Hawkins
• Tynan "TjP" Purtell
• Jordan "Hatz" Bajic
• Anton "Anlelele" Huynh
• Rasmus "⁠Zyphon⁠" Nordfoss
• Nicolai "⁠HUNDEN⁠" Petersen (Coach)