Oleksandr Olehovych Kostyliev (born 2 October 1997), better known as s1mple, is a Ukrainian professional ''

Counter-Strike 2 ''Counter-Strike 2'' is a 2023 free-to-play Tactical shooter, tactical first-person shooter video game, game developed and published by Valve Corporation, Valve. It is the fifth entry in the ''Counter-Strike'' series, developed as an updated v ...

'' player for

FaZe Clan FaZe Clan, or simply FaZe, is a professional esports and entertainment brand. Founded on May 30, 2010, as FaZe Sniping, the organization has professional players and content creators from around the world, across multiple games. In October 20 ...

, on loan from

Natus Vincere Natus Vincere (Latin for "born to win"), commonly referred as abbreviated name NAVI (formerly Na`Vi), is a Ukrainian esports organization based in Kyiv. Founded in 2009, the organization has teams and players competing in various games, such as ...

. He is widely considered as the greatest player in Counter Strike history, particularly in Counter Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO), having been ranked the No. 1 player in the world by

HLTV HLTV, formerly an initialism of Half-Life Television, is a news website and forum which covers professional ''Counter-Strike 2'' esports news, tournaments and statistics. It is one of the leading websites within the ''Counter-Strike'' communit ...

in 2018, 2021 and 2022. s1mple’s peak form, particularly from 2018 through 2021, saw him dominate the global scene with a hyper-aggressive style, exceptional mechanical skill, game sense, and consistency across all roles and weapon types, earning him multiple MVP (Most Valuable Player) awards at premier tournaments and setting numerous statistical records. He was instrumental in leading Natus Vincere (Na’Vi) to victory at several major international events, including the PGL Major Stockholm 2021, where he secured his first Major title and was named MVP. Critically acclaimed by analysts, peers, and fans alike, s1mple is often referenced in discussions not only for his peak skill but also for his sustained excellence across different metas and eras of CS:GO. His influence extends beyond the server, serving as a benchmark for aspiring players and a defining figure in the evolution of the game.

Early life

Kostyliev was born on 2 October 1997. He started playing ''

Counter-Strike ''Counter-Strike'' (''CS'') is a series of multiplayer tactical first-person shooter video games, in which opposing teams attempt to complete various objectives. The series began on Windows in 1999 with the release of the first game, '' Counte ...

'' at four years old at the recommendation of his older brother. S1mple picked up '' Counter-Strike: Global Offensive'' on its release in 2012, joining his first professional team a year later.

Career

2014

S1mple's first team was a team called LAN DODGERS, but he was soon signed by Courage Gaming. Around September 2014, s1mple was signed by a large organisation known as Hellraisers. There, he joined ANGE1, Dosia, Kucher, and Markeloff, who s1mple considers his idol.

2015

In January 2015, s1mple was soon removed from Hellraisers due to his inflammatory comments about Germans, and an ESL wire ban for cheating. S1mple himself says that the ban was from cheating in Counter-Strike 1.6. However, records from ESL show that it was an in-game ban from when S1mple played CS:GO. This ban was also extended to 2016 due to ban evasion. S1mple was soon after signed by Flipsid3 Tactics, but his time in the team would cut short due to the team's semi-final exit at ESWC 2015. At this period in his career, s1mple was known for being quite "

toxic Toxicity is the degree to which a chemical substance or a particular mixture of substances can damage an organism. Toxicity can refer to the effect on a whole organism, such as an animal, bacterium, or plant, as well as the effect on a subst ...

", or rude to his teammates.

2016

After a short stint studying Chinese at a university, s1mple moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, United States in early 2016 and joined Team Liquid. A Team Liquid player, Spencer "Hiko" Martin, was standing in for Flipsid3 at ESWC 2015, and he developed a friendly relationship with s1mple there. Team Liquid surprised at the first major, and reached the semifinals of MLG Major Championship: Columbus, before falling to the eventual champions, Luminosity Gaming. The game against Luminosity is widely regarded as both one of the greatest matches and one of the greatest chokes of professional counter strike as Team Liquid failed to close out 15-9 lead in map 1 Mirage, and 15-6 lead in map 2 Cache, losing the series 0-2. The semifinal also featured one of the most famous clip in CS:GO history, a jumping no scope collateral AWP shot from Coldzera. Despite this result at the game's biggest tournament, it wouldn't be long before s1mple would leave Team Liquid, citing homesickness. The next major of the year was approaching, and s1mple once again played for Team Liquid. During the semifinals at

ESL One Cologne 2016 ESL One Cologne 2016, also known as ESL Cologne Major 2016 or Cologne 2016, was an Electronic Sports League Counter-Strike: Global Offensive tournament. It was the ninth '' Counter-Strike: Global Offensive'' Major Championship and was held at ...

Valve A valve is a device or natural object that regulates, directs or controls the flow of a fluid (gases, liquids, fluidized solids, or Slurry, slurries) by opening, closing, or partially obstructing various passageways. Valves are technically Pip ...

Corporation added a graffiti on Cache commemorating s1mple's falling AWP play against

fnatic Fnatic (pronounced "fanatic"; also stylised as fnatic or FNATIC) is a professional esports organisation headquartered in London, United Kingdom. Founded on 23 July 2004, it has players from around the world competing in several games. Fnatic' ...

. Thus,

Team Liquid Team Liquid is a multi-regional professional esports organization based in the Netherlands that was founded in 2000. They signed their first professional players with the release of '' StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty''. In 2012, Team Liquid acq ...

became the first North American team to reach a major final. They were stopped in the finals by the same Brazilian lineup of SK (formerly Luminosity Gaming). After leaving Team Liquid, he replaced Danylo "Zeus" Teslenko on Natus Vincere. With Na'Vi, s1mple won ESL One: New York 2016, and he was awarded the #4 placement in the HLTV top 20.

2017

During the first major of the year, ELEAGUE Major 2017, Na'Vi lost to

Astralis Astralis is a Danish esports organization. Best known for their ''Counter-Strike 2'' team, they also have teams representing other games, such as ''FIFA'' and ''Rainbow Six Siege.'' The parent group of Astralis is the Astralis Group, who prev ...

during the quarterfinals. After a group stage exit at PGL 2017 Krakow Major Championship, Na'Vi benched Ladislav "GuardiaN" Kovacs and Denis "seized" Kostin while bringing in former member Danylo "Zeus" Teslenko. GuardiaN had been the AWPer for Na'Vi, so s1mple was forced to take up the sniper rifle after his departure. Despite these changes, Na'Vi continued their drought of results, and found a replacement for seized in the form Denis "electronic" Sharipov. s1mple didn't find much success in 2017, but he still kept up his individual form from the previous year. S1mple was awarded the #8 placement in the HLTV top 20 this year, down from #4 in 2016 due to a lack of results in the team.

2018

Na'Vi started 2018 with a semi-final finish at ELEAGUE Major: Boston 2018. At the start of 2018, Brazilian organisation

MIBR Made in Brazil, commonly referred as abbreviated name MIBR (stylized as MiBR or mibr) is a professional esports organization with players competing in ''Counter-Strike 2,'' '' Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Siege'' and ''VALORANT''. It was a member o ...

attempted to sign s1mple and . The deal was reportedly very close to being finished, but Na'Vi asked for too high of a buyout, and the deal eventually fell through. After two 2nd-place finishes at Starladder & i-League StarSeries Season 4 and Dreamhack Masters Marseille, Na'Vi won their first event of the year at StarSeries & i-League Season 5; they would follow it up with wins at CAC 2018, and ESL One Cologne 2018. S1mple won MVPs at StarSeries and Dreamhack Marseille, despite his team not winning the events. In the semifinals at Cologne, they beat the best team at the time,

. Na'Vi would lose to Astralis at the second major of the year, FACEIT Major: London 2018. Na'Vi won their final event of the year, BLAST Pro Series:

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

2018, and s1mple would once again claim the MVP award. Due to s1mple's personal performance, he would be nominated for the #1 spot at the HLTV top 20 players of 2018. According to the statistics from

, s1mple in 2018 achieved the highest individual rating out of all of previous top 20 players. In retrospect, 2018 s1mple is considered by many fans and pundits alike as the best player to ever touch CS:GO.

2019

Na'Vi came 3rd to 4th in the first major of the year. S1mple would keep up his form from 2018, and receive an MVP at StarSeries Season 7. At ESL One Cologne 2019, s1mple infamously tried to knife Team Liquid's nitr0 at match point in a 3v1 scenario, which resulted in nitr0 surviving and Team Liquid eventually winning the map, and the series 2-1. After this, Na'Vi would eventually hit a slump and replace s1mple's long time teammate Ioann "Edward" Sukhariev with Kirill "Boombl4" Mikhailov who was in September 2019 made the team's leader (or IGL). At Starladder Berlin Major, Na'Vi was eliminated by the North American NRG squad in the quarterfinals.

2021

Na'Vi went into the PGL Major as the heavy favourites after placing first in their regional ranking tournament by reverse sweeping

Gambit A gambit (from Italian , the act of tripping someone with the leg to make them fall) is a chess opening in which a player sacrifices with the aim of achieving a subsequent advantage. The word '' gambit'' is also sometimes used to describe si ...

in the finals. After going undefeated in the Legends stage of the Stockholm Major, Na'Vi proceeded to the playoffs, defeating home favorites

NiP Ninjas in Pyjamas (often abbreviated to NIP and NiP) is a professional esports organisation based in Sweden that is best known for its ''Counter-Strike'' teams. In 2012, the team reformed with a ''Counter Strike: Global Offensive'' lineup upon ...

in the process. Na'Vi retained their form and won the Major, making history by winning every single map played throughout the tournament. S1mple's individual performance through the Major, including a 2.26 HLTV rating in one of the two maps against Gambit in the semifinals, earned him tournament MVP. At the end of the year, s1mple was named Best Esports Player at

The Game Awards The Game Awards is an annual awards ceremony honoring achievements in the video game industry. Established in 2014, the shows are produced and hosted by game journalist Geoff Keighley. After working on its predecessor, the Spike Video Game Awar ...

2023–present: ''Counter-Strike 2''

On 26 October 2023, s1mple announced that he would be stepping away from professional ''Counter-Strike'' competition temporarily. He would be replaced by w0nderful on 31 October. Upon the release of ''

'', which replaced CS:GO shortly before he stepped away, s1mple was critical of the game, saying that it was a "shit game". The break would ultimately mean he would be on the bench for NaVi during PGL Copenhagen 2024, as they ended up winning their second Major. s1mple would return to professional ''Counter-Strike'' competition on 19 February 2024, signing on a one-month loan with the Saudi-based

Team Falcons Team Falcons (formerly Falcons Esports) is a Saudi esports organization. Founded in 2017, the organization fields rosters in multiple esports. The org has garnered a reputation for pursuing high-profile players and coaches, being able to success ...

, which saw him compete at the BLAST Premier Spring Showdown online event. This loan spell would only last 1 match, as Team Falcons lost to Metizport in the first round. On 27 September it was announced that s1mple would return to Team Falcons on loan once more, this time for the

Perfect World Shanghai Major 2024 The Perfect World Shanghai Major 2024 was the second ''Counter-Strike 2'' Major Championship and twenty-first ''Counter-Strike'' Major overall. It was held in Shanghai, China from November 30 to December 15, 2024, and was the first Major organi ...

Europe RMR. After last place group stage exits at ESL Challenger Katowice and Thunderpick World Championship, s1mple and Falcons placed second to last at the

Europe RMR. Following these underwhelming results, Team Falcons announced they would not extend s1mple's loan period with the organization. On 5 May 2025,

announced the loan signing of s1mple until the end of the Blast.tv Austin Major 2025.

Notable achievements

Individual awards and accolades

Rankings *

Top 20 Players: 4th (2016), 8th (2017), 1st (2018), 2nd (2019), 2nd (2020), 1st (2021), 1st (2022), 7th (2023) * ESL One New York 2016 * DreamHack Winter 2017 * StarSeries Season 4, 2018 * StarSeries Season 5, 2018 * ESL One Cologne 2018 * Dreamhack Masters Marseille 2018 * CS:GO Asia Championships 2018 *

BLAST Pro Series BLAST Pro Series was an international Counter-Strike: Global Offensive tournament. The tournament brought together six teams in a shortened two-day tournament format. The event rotated locations in cities around the world. The Danish esports or ...

Copenhagen 2018 * StarSeries Season 7, 2019 * IEM Katowice 2020 * ESL Pro League Season 12: Europe 2020 * BLAST Premier: Global Final 2020 * DreamHack Masters Spring 2021 * Starladder CIS RMR 2021 * IEM Cologne 2021 * ESL Pro League Season 14 2021 * PGL Major Stockholm 2021 * Blast Premier: World Final 2021 * BLAST Premier: Spring Finals 2022 * IEM Cologne 2022 * FACEIT Major: London 2018 * MLG Major Championship: Columbus, 2016 *

IEM Katowice 2019 The Intel Extreme Masters Season XIII – Katowice Major 2019, also known as IEM Katowice Major 2019 or Katowice 2019, was the fourteenth '' Counter-Strike: Global Offensive'' Major Championship and the world championship for the thirteenth sea ...

Other awards * Esports Awards, PC Player of the Year, 2018 * Esports, PC Player of the Year, 2021 *

, Best Esports Player, 2021 * Player of the Year (HLTV Award), 2022 * AWPer of the Year (Panel Award), 2022 * Player of the Year (HLTV Award), 2021 * Intel Grand Slam Season 3 Winner

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:s1mple 1997 births Living people Ukrainian esports players Sportspeople from Kyiv Team Liquid players Natus Vincere players Counter-Strike players The Game Awards winners Ukrainian Twitch (service) streamers