The e-sports player s1mple had the status of a legend in CS:GO. Now he is ending his break to prove his skills in CS2 as well.
Who is it about? Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyljev is considered one of the best CS:GO players of all time. The 26-year-old Ukrainian has played for HellRaisers, FlipSid3 Tactics, and Team Liquid during his career. However, s1mple reached the peak of his career at Natus Vincere (NaVi).
- For NaVi, s1mple played from 2016 to 2023 and won several highly rewarded tournaments during this time, including IEM Cologne in July 2021 and the Intel Grand Slam in September of the same year.
- For his performances at various competitions, he was awarded the best player of the year in 2018, 2021, and 2022, and was also a title contender in 2019 and 2020.
- On October 26, 2023, s1mple announced that he would take a break from Counter-Strike because he needed to sort out some documents and take care of people in his life (via X.com).
- Since the release of CS2, fans of the Ukrainian have been waiting for him to showcase his skills in the current installment of the shooter and to celebrate his return.
Now s1mple is returning at least temporarily as an active player, but not for the team with which he celebrated so many successes.
Which team is s1mple playing for now? S1mple is still under contract with NaVi but will be playing on loan for Team Falcons for the next three months (via navi.gg). During s1mple’s loan, the qualification for the Perfect World Shanghai Major 2024 will also take place, in which s1mple will participate for Falcons.
The move to Team Falcons is a noticeable athletic downgrade for s1mple, as NaVi finished the last IEM Cologne in August 2024 in 2nd place, while Team Falcons could only manage 9th-12th place.
At Team Falcons, s1mple will play alongside Snappi, Magisk, maden, and dupreeh. The current coach of the team is zonic.
s1mple’s move reminds fans of Cristiano Ronaldo
What does that have to do with Ronaldo? S1mple’s temporary move to Team Falcons reminds some fans on Reddit of the recent transfer of professional footballer Cristiano Ronaldo.
Ronaldo has been playing for the Saudi Arabian team Al-Nassr since 2023, where the multiple world footballer has little prospects for sporting success – at least by international standards. One user writes on Reddit: “This is the CS counterpart to Ronaldo going to Saudi Arabia.”
Also, the e-sports organization Team Falcons has its origins in Saudi Arabia, which reinforces the comparison. On the other hand, some users note that s1mple will still have to compete against the best players in the team. They see this differently with Ronaldo.
During his break, s1mple offered a course aimed at improving players in Counter-Strike. However, the project did not go well, and the Ukrainian was accused of scam: Counter-Strike 2: Shooter God on retirement offers course for €137 – but he is accused of scamming
