The war of Russia against Ukraine is troubling the Ukrainian top player s1mple. The Ukrainian is considered the best player in the world in the Steam hit Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. But now there are problems within his team Natus Vincere. Now the e-sports player is considering taking a break.
Who is s1mple? Oleksandr “s1mple” Olehovych Kostyliev (24) is regarded as a shooter icon in the eSports field. The Ukrainian professional gamer is often referred to as the best CS:GO player in the world and has held the position of AWPer in the Natus Vincere team since 2016. In addition to his successful career as a professional gamer, he also streams on Twitch.
Even though his team recently won the big tournament “BLAST Premier Spring Final 2022”, the pro player is in a crisis.
The war in his home country Ukraine is weighing on the pro player. In February, s1mple issued a peace appeal to Russia on Twitter.
The consequences of the war between Russia and Ukraine have led to problems within Natus Vincere. s1mple said: “When the war began, we were mentally destroyed” (via hltv.org).
Russians and Ukrainians successfully play together in CS:GO at Team NAVI
Who is behind Team Natus Vincere? Team Natus Vincere (lat. Born to win), short Team NAVI, is a Ukrainian professional eSports team in the CS:GO area.
The active players include:
- s1mple
- electronic
- b1t
- Perfecto
- sdy
The team is composed of half Ukrainian and half Russian players.
Team kicks out Russian captain
This NAVI player came into focus: The Russian professional player Kirill “Boombl4” Mikhaylov had been the in-game leader (IGL) for NAVI since 2019 and was extremely successful in this role. He earned over a million US dollars in prize money at Natus Vincere.
However, the turning point in his career came in May 2022. He was removed from the roster as an active member of NAVI. The reason for his dismissal was said to be, among other things, his residence in Russia and statements made by his then-wife, who had supported the war in Russia on Instagram.
s1mple expressed his regret at the departure of Boombl4 at the time and emphasized his importance for the team’s success:
Shortly after NAVI’s dismissal, Boombl4 and his wife Anzhelika Ezieva divorced. He proposed to her on stage in November 2021 after winning a tournament.
After the separation was announced, his now ex-wife published image and video material of the pro player: She released a video showing Boombl4 allegedly consuming drugs.
Currently, electronic replaces Boombl4 as IGL for NAVI.
– Putin attacks Ukraine (via spiegel-online)
– War in Ukraine: Russian troops take over Chernobyl, Great Britain decides on extensive sanctions against Russia (via nzz)
– Vote in the Russia Crisis (via auswaertiges-amt)
Top player s1mple is mentally exhausted: “We just lost against ourselves”
This is the situation for s1mple: At the IEM Katowice tournament, NAVI reached the semifinals but then lost to G2. In the Major Finals in Antwerp, the team was again defeated, this time by FaZe Clan.
“We just lost against ourselves.” With these words, s1mple explains the team’s setbacks in a conversation with HLTV (via hltv).
In addition to the war in Ukraine and the rift within the team, s1mple currently has no permanent residence, which adds to his stress. Now the e-sports player is contemplating taking a break for several months and settling down quietly. Spain or Portugal are among the possibilities.
What happens next with Team Natus Vincere?
It remains uncertain whether s1mple will actually take a break and what the future holds for Team NAVI. After the defeats at IEM Katowice and Antwerp, things seem to be looking up with the BLAST Premier Spring Final 2022. Here, NAVI was able to successfully assert itself against the competition and bring home the victory.
A success that might give the team a bit of hope again in such difficult and challenging times:
Here you will find a more detailed article about the dismissal of the former in-game leader Boombl4.
