Gla1ve is a New 100 Thieves Head Coach: What the Move Means

Dec 23, 2025

100 Thieves has hired Lukas “gla1ve” Rossander as its new head coach for Counter-Strike 2. He is known for leading top teams in the past, and now his job is to help build a strong plan, keep the players organized, and prepare them for big matches as the team returns to competition.

Keep reading to see what this hire says about 100 Thieves’ direction and what it could mean for their results.

The Announcement: Appointment Details and Team Direction

First, the news: 100 Thieves officially named Lukas “gla1ve” Rossander as head coach on December 19, 2025, after a report earlier on December 3. It is his first coaching job since stepping away from playing. For CS2 players, that matters because a head coach sets the team’s system: how they practice, how they prep maps, and how they fix mistakes between matches.

Right now, the roster is only partly known:

Confirmed: Håvard “rain” Nygaard as in-game leader, and gla1ve as head coach
Close to happening: Nicolai “device” Reedtz joining, which would reunite him with gla1ve
Not announced yet: the other three players and the first tournament schedule

The plan is Europe-based, competing as “100 Thieves Roobet” and building around a planned training facility in Serbia. The next signings will decide if this becomes a fast climb or a slower rebuild.

Why gla1ve: Background, Leadership Profile, and What He Brings to the Role

100 Thieves picked Lukas “gla1ve” Rossander because he has a long record of leading teams with clear rules and calm mid-round calls. He is also moving into coaching at the right time: he retired from playing after a five-month spell on ENCE’s bench and said he has “something extraordinary to offer” as a coach. For CS2 players, that points to sharper practice, cleaner defaults, and fewer rounds thrown by timing mistakes.

Major titles that shaped his leadership

His biggest trophies came during Astralis’ peak:

ELEAGUE Major: Atlanta 2017
FACEIT Major: London 2018
IEM Katowice Major 2019
StarLadder Berlin Major 2019

Since he is no longer worrying about his own crosshair every round, he can put that attention into prep: anti-strats, mid-round options, and the small rules that keep a team from over-peeking or leaving gaps in a smoke wall.

A recent series shows the kind of pressure he has seen up close. On July 10, 2025, ENCE lost 1-2 to ROSY at Exort The Proving Grounds Season 2: Anubis 13-7 to ENCE, Ancient 6-13, Dust II 10-13. Across the match, gla1ve finished 39-49 with a 0.80 rating, while ROSY’s byek led at 55-38, 89.4 ADR, and a 1.72 rating. Losses like that often push a coach toward simple, repeatable plans that still work when comms get loud.

Competitive Impact: Upcoming Goals, How Team Rankings Work, and What This Could Change

100 Thieves is returning to Counter-Strike after more than five years away, and the current circuit rewards teams that stack real results quickly. During its previous CS run, 100 Thieves placed second at IEM Beijing in 2019, then exited the game in 2020. The comeback is starting in a very different ecosystem, with tighter calendars and less patience for slow starts.

For invites and long-term positioning, the Valve Regional Standings matter. These standings influence seeding and connect to Major qualification pathways, using a public, results-driven system that weighs opponent strength, event performance, and consistency.

A simplified view of what usually moves the needle looks like this:

Ranking driver	What it rewards in practice
Opponent strength	Beating teams with strong recent form
Event placement	Deep runs across multiple series
LAN performance	Showing the system holds under pressure
Consistency	Regular official matches without long gaps

That context makes the gla1ve and rain pairing logical. With rain calling in the server and gla1ve handling preparation and review, the early goal is to cut the unforced errors that bleed rounds, then turn a rough first month into stable progress.

If device joins, the upside is obvious: elite AWP pedigree plus a long-standing connection that can speed up cohesion. If that signing does not happen, the head coach appointment still signals a process-first build, and the next player announcements will determine how quickly the plan turns into wins.