The Counter-Strike GOAT: s1mple

Possibly the most gifted player of our times, Aleksandr Kostyliev is a player whose name sends shivers down the opponents’ spines. In the face of undoubtedly the biggest tournament of his life, let’s take a quick detour down his decorated career. 

The Rise

s1mple started his professional career in 2013 and in about 3 years, he made a shocking number of moves: 13. He jumped from team to team, refining his otherworldly talent every time, whilst progressively getting a little messed up on the teamwork front. 

s1mple had attitude and communication issues. That made it very difficult for teams to work with him, especially when times were tough. He couldn’t last in any of the teams for more than a few months. 

But in his time with FlipSid3 Tactics, he found a man from the opposite side of the world who could finally understand him: Hiko.

This American brought s1mple to a team so stocked with talent that it could move the world.

The American Fling 

In 2016, a 19-year-old s1mple packed his bags for the US, leaving behind the whole of his life to start a new one.

Joining talents like EliGE and Hiko, s1mple embarked on a volatile journey of gaming adventure, the treasures of whom were the two Majors of 2016. 

In March 2016, the first one had arrived and Team Liquid seemed up for the challenge. s1mple and Hiko defeated Hiko’s perpetual nemesis, the 3-time Major winners, fnatic, where s1mple was gifted the MVP. With a formidable form, Liquid entered the playoffs and brushed aside Counter Logic Gaming. 

But the semi-finals against Luminosity was a nightmare-inducing affair for the Americans, as they fell victim to two back-to-back 15-9 and 15-6 comebacks that kicked Team Liquid out of the Major and booked a spot for the coldzera-led Brazilians. 

The only good news for s1mple was that he was invited into the NA All-Stars team to play against EU All-Stars, a match NA went on to win in double overtime. Ironically, it was the EU-born teenage Aleksandr that was named the MVP ahead of other generational talents. 

s1mple’s ESL ban expired and hence, he was allowed to participate in the second Major: ESL One: Cologne 2016. 

Two wins over a defeat in the Group Stage landed Team Liquid in the Playoffs against s1mple’s future team NaVi. A 2-1 reverse sweep against them and a 2-0 clean finish against Fnatic in the semi-finals put Team Liquid in the light they truly deserved. It put s1mple in the light he truly deserved. 

But at the very last stage, the Americans fell all over again to coldzera-led team, now under the banner of SK Gaming.

Despite all his talent, s1mple undeniably had attitude issues. He couldn’t last in a roster even for a few months but he did in a whole new country because of Hiko and his guidance. But even with that, it was impossible to have this team stick together. 

Someone had to leave to bring back the stability. Right after the Major ended, s1mple decided to walk out, with as much wisdom as he could gather from Hiko, if not half a year worth of memories.

s1mple had returned home.

The NaVi Era

Joining a team he had always dreamt of playing for, s1mple and co. hit top gears right at the start. In the first match of the first tournament, s1mple faced his ex-teammates of Liquid and was gifted MVP as NaVi beat Team Liquid. Another victory later, he was set to face coldzera’s SK Gaming where a dominant 1.83-rating performance meant NaVi had a win streak of 3. Two rematches against Liquid and VP in the Semi-Final and Grand Final respectively later, NaVi had won ESL One New York 2016 and s1mple was crowned with the MVP award.

But after a solid start, NaVi terribly slowed down. Their squad had aging players in important positions, and the rebuilding process took years.

NaVi won zero S-Tier tournaments in 2017, and they crashed out early in both the 2017 Majors. 

By 2018, NaVi had young guns in electronic, flamie and of course, s1mple. And that year, they did much better. 6 S-Tier Grand Finals and 2 S-Tier Tournament trophies was a promising sign, not less because one of the Grand Final was the second Major of the year.

In FACEIT Major: London 2018, NaVi defeated every single opponent except one en route to the Grand Final, and unfortunately, that very opponent greeted them at the top. dev1ce-led Astralis defeated NaVi 2-0 and s1mple had endured losing another Major Grand Final. 

With 4 S-Tier MVPs, s1mple was crowned with HLTV’s Player Of The Year in 2018, ahead of his Danish nemesis dev1ce.

But the Ukrainian dream run ended in 2019, when they hit another rough patch. In 2019, NaVi won only one S-Tier tournament and lost to low-ranked teams in both the Majors.

s1mple’s performances hid a lot of deficiencies in the squad, but it also meant that it became easier for someone else to shine in a stable team. It was the French wonderkid in zywOo that narrowly beat s1mple to HLTV’s Player Of The Year in 2019.

But the start of 2020 was hopeful, as NaVi won IEM Katowice 2020.

A pandemic struck and it derailed NaVi’s ambitions but soon enough, 2021 rolled around and s1mple and co. truly started to conquer the world alongside local rivals Gambit.

NaVi had recovered their early-2020 form and won the Intel Grand Slam for being the best team of the year, by winning IEM Katowice 2020, Dreamhack Masters Spring 2021, IEM Cologne 2021, and ESL Pro League Season 14. 

s1mple was deservingly named MVP in each of those tournaments, IEM Cologne 2021 notably where he probably put in the greatest performance any player had ever put. He also broke the record for most aces in a huge tournament in the Cathedral of Counter-Strike.

The 2021 Major

With such a strong setup for the Ukranians, the PGL Stockholm Major 2021 is a tournament for their taking. With b1t’s introduction to the team over flamie, NaVi’s consistency has skyrocketed in 2021.

Astralis’ dominance seems to have vanished, as s1mple’s arch-rival dev1ce has quit Astralis for NiP. After a rough start, NiP and dev1ce have picked up steam at the right moment: just before the Major. 

NiP are number 2 in the world right now, second only to s1mple’s NaVi. 

On one side we have possibly the most gifted player in the game’s history, with everything but a Major crown. s1mple has played in teams that run around his individual brilliance and that has probably cost them at the biggest stage. Twice.

On the other side, though, we have serial Major winner in dev1ce, whose talents were lifted by the intricate systems at Astralis. 

Now that the tables have turned and s1mple is in more of a team-centric system and dev1ce is on the side of individual brilliance, the real battle can ensue between the two giants in NaVi and NiP.

Another frontrunner for the Major is the team that has only recently picked up steam. It homes the French superstar and s1mple’s true arch-rival, zywOo. 

Vitality made it to the Grand Finals of EPL S14 and took NaVi to the fifth map there. This form could spell troubles for the Ukrainians as a 24-year-old s1mple chases his first-ever Major trophy.

Only time can tell what lies ahead for the King without a crown, and the CS:GO world cannot wait enough to witness the fate of Aleksandr Kostyliev.

 

(Header image via ESL | Adela Sznajder)