Astarte Plans to Keep Hokori Together

Published September 25, 2026

Hokori coach Franco Estefano “Astarte” Hurtado wants the team’s core to remain together through the season, even as the lineup tests a new carry. Speaking during PGL Wallachia Season 9, he described the group as a small family with good communication and singled out wonderk1d and payk for their work. His comments outline an intention, not a completed long-term roster announcement.

Asked whether Hokori would preserve the lineup, Astarte said that was the plan for now. The qualification matters because trials are still taking place. A new carry is being tested, so continuity refers to the broader project and working relationships rather than a guarantee that every current slot is locked for multiple years. He nevertheless said he hopes the group can stay together for this season and longer if the arrangement works.

Astarte’s explanation centred on the environment inside the team. He said the players work as friends, communicate well in practice and try to improve their work each day. That description provides the reason for favouring continuity after a difficult tournament: the staff see a foundation worth developing even though the first major result did not produce a playoff place.

Wallachia exposed the work still required

Hokori finished the Wallachia group stage with one series win and three defeats. The team beat Pibbles Corp, then lost to Natus Vincere, 1w Team and MOUZ across its other matches. Every Hokori series ended as a sweep, which left little ambiguity in the Swiss standings: one clean win was followed by three clean losses overall.

The tournament used a modified Swiss system in which three series wins sent a team to the playoffs and three losses eliminated it. Hokori reached the second threshold. That outcome explains why Astarte spoke about more practice and support rather than presenting the event as proof that the project was already complete.

The coach identified wonderk1d and, at the moment, payk as the team’s leading players. He praised their work rate and talent while adding that the cores need more practice and support from him and the rest of the lineup. The wording is constructive: it recognises individual promise without shifting responsibility for the tournament solely onto those players.

It also fits the planned carry trial. Evaluation can continue without discarding the team culture Astarte values. The staff can compare how a candidate affects lanes, communication and later decisions while preserving the parts of the group that are already functioning. A trial is therefore evidence of an open position, not evidence that the entire roster will be rebuilt.

Retention is the plan, not yet a guarantee

Astarte’s preferred direction is clear: keep the project intact, improve through practice and give the talented cores more support. What remains unsettled is the final carry choice and whether results will allow the group to continue beyond the coming season. Those decisions require tests that an interview cannot settle.

The Wallachia exit supplies a measurable starting point. Hokori leave with a series record of one win and three losses, a positive internal assessment from the coach and a defined area of roster evaluation. The next lineup announcement will show how the stated preference for continuity is translated into names. Until then, the interview supports a plan to continue the project, not a promise that every trial will end with the same five players registered for the next tournament.

• Current plan: retain the team’s core while testing a new carry.
• Coach’s standouts: Astarte highlighted wonderk1d and payk for talent and hard work.

Wallachia opponent	Hokori result
Pibbles Corp	Win
Natus Vincere	Loss
1w Team and MOUZ	Losses

Hokori’s tournament ended before the playoffs, but Astarte is not treating that result as a reason to erase the project. His priority is measured continuity: protect the team’s working relationships, test the carry role and judge progress over more than one event.