Astralis’ Nicolai ‘device’ Reedtz has released a statement about his ongoing health issues that have been plaguing him since the latter half of 2017.
Widely regarded as one of the best CS:GO players on Earth, device was forced to miss the end of the 2017 season due to undisclosed health issues which occurred around the time of IEM Oakland.
The Danish AWPer returned to action in time for the ELEAGUE Boston Major in January but still seemed to be performing below his usual high standards. It wasn’t until DreamHack Masters Marseille in April that he finally started to seem like himself again in the server.
Astralis came into IEM Sydney as one of the heavy favorites to take the title and device helped to lead the team to the semifinals after going unbeaten in the group stages.
However, on May 4th, just one day before their semifinal match, device took to Twitter to say that he would be missing the team’s scheduled autograph session due to feeling sick.
A few hours later the 22 year old released a TwitLonger statement revealing that his ongoing issues are the result of severe stress-induced Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and acid reflux which has caused him to change his lifestyle significantly and often flares up when he is travelling and playing a lot.
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“The conclusion of these meetings were that I had stress-caused IBS, acid reflux – in general a really over sensitive stomach. Something that would change my lifestyle/way of living. After that I haven’t been able to put that many things into my body, it’s a constant struggle trying to figure out what triggers and being under immense stress and pressure with traveling and performance has surely taken a toll on me these past months. Even though in periods things are looking bright I get reminded every day that I haven’t found a balance of things yet. I still live in pain, being uncomfortable and feeling nausea/sick/vomiting is probably never going to go away while I am doing this.”
Device went on to explain that he was releasing the statement due to feeling bad about missing out on certain things that his teammates have been working on.
Unfortunately, with an issue like IBS, there is never any real cure and diet/stress management are the best ways of trying to keep it under control.
Device’s lifestyle is certainly not conducive to keeping all of those factors under control but he seems determined to try to find ways around it.
Hopefully the superstar player will feel better in time for his semifinal match on May 5th.