The Ukrainian Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev is considered the best player of CS:GO (Steam) of all time. The 25-year-old is worried about the culture in his e-sport and criticizes the behavior of Virtus Pro’s management. They replaced a young player during an ongoing tournament, something that has never happened in CS:GO, as experts report.
What annoys s1mple? At a tournament in Paris, the defending champions in the CS:GO Major, Virtus Pro, made a tough decision:
- The team sent their rifler Aleksandr “KaiR0N-” Anashkin (19, Russia, born in Germany) home
- and replaced him with David “N0rb3r7” Danileyan (22, Russia)
It is remarkable that the younger KaiR0N- only joined the team in January 2023 for N0rb3r7. Now, the team is reversing this decision 3 months later.
The decision is astonishing anyway, as replacing a player during an ongoing tournament in CS:GO is an unprecedented action, as experts note. An action that has outraged s1mple.
Young player allegedly couldn’t handle tournament pressure
What does the team say? The CEO says: “Young players do not always manage to withstand the pressure of a LAN tournament, especially not at particularly important ones.”
The substitute is a “brilliant player who is trusted.”
What bothers s1mple about it? s1mple says the team’s management acts like “a piece of trash.” They replaced the player at 1-2, got a substitute, and then ordered a ticket for the substitute.
s1mple recounts: He met the 19-year-old who was kicked from the team and asked him: “Are you nervous, or what?” The 19-year-old replied: “No, that was a decision of the team, what can I do?”
s1mple apparently finds it outrageous how the team treats a 19-year-old talent:
You should only sign with them for a maximum of one year. Otherwise, the organization will eat you up. This attitude towards players is unacceptable. How can you make a deal with Satan?
Why does it upset him so much? S1imple explains that he believes in the talent of the 19-year-old and sees him as a potential star of CS:GO in the future:
The guy is capable of doing something great, and this is how they treat him. I can’t remember such crap ever happening in the history of CS:GO.
Experts call it a “shock decision”
How is this discussed by others? It is indeed seen on sites like reddit as a puzzling action by the team. Because the 19-year-old had strong stats during his appearances. He was actually considered the player who stood out from the roster.
The CS:GO specialist site HLTV describes the player change as a “shock decision that has never been made at a tournament of this importance before.”
More about s1mple:
One of the best CS:GO players gets banned on Twitch for the 4th time – Why?
