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s1mple
s1mple | |
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![]() s1mple at IEM Katowice Major 2019 | |
Current team | |
Team | Natus Vincere |
Game | Counter-Strike: Global Offensive |
Role | AWPer |
Personal information | |
Name | Олександр Костилєв •Александр Костылев (Oleksandr Kostyliev, Aleksandr Kostilev) |
Born | 2 October 1997 |
Nationality | Ukrainian |
Career information | |
Playing career | 2013–present |
Role | AWPer, Rifler |
Team history | |
2014–2015 | Hellraisers |
2015 | Flipsid3 Tactics |
2016 | Team Liquid |
2016–present | Natus Vincere |
Career highlights and awards | |
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Oleksandr Olegovich Kostyliev (Ukrainian) or Aleksandr Olegovich Kostilev (Russian) (Ukrainian: Олександр Олегович Костилєв, Russian: Александр Олегович Костылев; born 2 October 1997), better known as s1mple, is a Ukrainian professional Counter-Strike: Global Offensive player for Natus Vincere.[1] He is considered to be one of the best players in Global Offensive history.[2][3]
Early life
Kostyliev was born on 2 October 1997.[4] His family name is of Russian origin.[5] He started playing Counter-Strike 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.[6]
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.[7] There, he joined ANGE1, Dosia, Kucher, and Markeloff, who s1mple considers his idol.[8]
2015
In January 2015, s1mple was soon removed from Hellraisers due to his inflammatory comments about Germans, and an ESL wire ban for cheating.[9] S1mple himself says that the ban was from cheating in Counter-Strike 1.6.[10] However, records from ESL proves that it was an in game ban when S1mple played CS GO.[11] This ban was also extended to 2016 due to ban evasion.[12] 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", or rude to his teammates.[13][14]
2016
After a short stint studying Chinese at a university,[6] s1mple moved to America 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.[15] Team Liquid surprised at the first major, and reached the semifinals of MLG Major Championship: Columbus, before falling to the eventual champions, Luminosity Gaming. 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.[16] During the semifinals at ESL One Cologne 2016, Valve Corporation added a graffiti on Cache commemorating s1mple's falling AWP play against fnatic.[17] Thus, Team Liquid 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).[18] After leaving Team Liquid, he replaced Danylo "Zeus" Teslenko on Natus Vincere.[19] With Na'Vi, s1mple won ESL One: New York 2016, and he was awarded the #4 placement in the HLTV top 20.[20]
2017
During the first major of the year, ELEAGUE Major 2017, Na'Vi lost to Astralis during the quarterfinals. After a group stage exit at PGL 2017 Krakow Major Championship, Na'Vi benched Ladislav "GuardiaN" Kovacs and Denis "seized" Kostin former-member Danylo "Zeus" Teslenko.[21][22] 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.[23] 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.[24]
2018
Na'Vi started 2018 with a semi-final finish at ELEAGUE Major: Boston 2018. At the start of 2018, Brazilian organisation MIBR attempted to sign s1mple and flamie. 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.[25] 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.[26][27][28][29][30] In the semifinals at Cologne, they beat the best team at the time, Astralis.[31] 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 2018, and s1mple would once again claim the MVP award.[32] Due to s1mple's personal performance,[33] he would be nominated for the #1 spot at the HLTV top 20 players of 2018.[34] According to the statistics from HLTV, 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.[35][36][37][38]
2019
Na'Vi came 3rd to 4th in the first major of the year. S1mple would keep up his form from 2018,[39] and receive an MVP at StarSeries Season 7. 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).[40]
2021
Na'Vi went into the PGL Major as the heavy favourites after placing first in their regional ranking tournament, reverse sweeping Gambit in the process.[41] After going undefeated in the Legends stage of the Stockholm Major, Na'Vi proceeded to the playoffs, eliminating home favorites NiP in the process.[42] Na'Vi retained their form and won the Major, making history by going undefeated throughout the tournament.[43] 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.[44][45] At the end of the year, s1mple was named Best Esports Player by The Game Awards.[46]
Notable achievements
Placement | Tournament | Location | Date |
---|---|---|---|
With Team Liquid | |||
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MLG Major Championship: Columbus | Columbus, United States | March 29, 2016 – April 3, 2016 |
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ESL One Cologne 2016 | Cologne, Germany | July 5, 2016 – July 10, 2016 |
With Natus Vincere | |||
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ESL One: New York 2016 | New York, United States | September 30, 2016 – October 2, 2016 |
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StarSeries Season 3 | Kyiv, Ukraine | April 4, 2017 – April 9, 2017 |
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ESL One Cologne 2017 | Cologne, Germany | July 7, 2017 – July 9, 2017 |
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ELEAGUE Major: Boston 2018 | Boston, United States | January 12, 2018 – January 28, 2018 |
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DreamHack Masters Marseille 2018 | Marseille, France | April 18, 2018 – April 22, 2018 |
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StarSeries Season 5 | Kyiv, Ukraine | May 28, 2018 – June 6, 2018 |
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CAC 2018 | Shanghai, China | June 14, 2018 – June 18, 2018 |
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ESL One Cologne 2018 | Cologne, Germany | July 3, 2018 – July 8, 2018 |
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ELeague CS:GO Premier 2018 | Atlanta, United States | July 21, 2018 – July 29, 2018 |
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FACEIT Major: London 2018 | London, United Kingdom | September 5, 2018 – September 23, 2018 |
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EPICENTER 2018 | Moscow, Russia | October 23, 2018 – October 28, 2018 |
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BLAST Pro Series: Lisbon 2018 | Lisbon, Portugal | December 14, 2018 – December 15, 2018 |
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IEM Katowice 2019 | Katowice, Poland | February 13, 2019 – March 3, 2019 |
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StarSeries Season 7 | Shanghai, China | March 30, 2019 – April 7, 2019 |
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ESL One Cologne 2019 | Cologne, Germany | July 2, 2019 - July 7, 2019 |
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DreamHack Masters Malmö 2019 | Malmo, Sweden | October 1, 2019 - October 6, 2019 |
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ESL Pro League Season 10: Finals | Odense, Denmark | December 3, 2019 - December 8, 2019 |
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ICE Challenge 2020 | London, United Kingdom | February 1, 2020 - February 6, 2020 |
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BLAST Premier: Spring 2020 Regular Season | London, United Kingdom | January 31, 2020 - February 16, 2020 |
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IEM Katowice 2020 | Katowice, Poland | February 24, 2020 – March 1, 2020 |
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ESL Pro League Season 12: Europe | Europe (Online) | September 1, 2020 - October 4, 2020 |
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IEM Beijing-Haidian 2020: Europe | Europe (Online) | November 6, 2020 - November 22, 2020 |
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IEM Global Challenge 2020 | Europe (Online) | December 15, 2020 - December 20, 2020 |
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BLAST Premier: Global Final 2020 | Europe (Online) | January 19, 2021 – January 24, 2021 |
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BLAST Premier: Spring Groups 2021 | Europe (Online) | February 4, 2021 - February 14, 2021 |
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DreamHack Masters Spring 2021 | Europe (Online) | April 29, 2021 – May 9, 2021 |
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Blast Premier: Spring Finals 2021 | Europe (Online) | June 15, 2021 - June 20, 2021 |
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IEM Cologne 2021 | Cologne, Germany | July 6, 2021 - July 18, 2021 |
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ESL Pro League Season 14 | Europe (Online) | August 16 - September 12, 2021 |
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PGL Major Stockholm 2021 | Stockholm, Sweden | October 26, 2021 - November 7, 2021 |
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Blast Premier: Fall Finals 2021 | Copenhagen, Denmark | November 24, 2021 - November 28, 2021 |
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Blast Premier: World Final 2021 | Copenhagen, Denmark | December 14, 2021 - December 19, 2021 |
Individual awards and accolades
Rankings
MVP
- 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 Copenhagen 2018[51]
- 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
EVP
- FACEIT Major: London 2018[52]
- MLG Major Championship: Columbus, 2016
- ESL One Cologne 2016
- IEM Katowice 2019
Other awards
- Esports Awards, PC Player of the Year, 2018[53]
- Esports, PC Player of the Year, 2021[54]
- The Game Awards, Best Esports Player, 2021[55]
References
- ^ "S1mple" (in Russian). Retrieved 27 June 2019.
- ^ "The Thorin Treatment: s1mple and the Path of Greatness". dotesports.com. 15 November 2016. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
- ^ "HLTV names s1mple the best player in the world over dev1ce". dotesports.com. 20 January 2019. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
- ^ "Happy birthday, s1mple!". Natus Vincere. 2 October 2019. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
- ^ 1
- ^ a b CS:GO Player Profile – s1mple – Natus Vincere. Valve. 8 February 2017. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
- ^ Mira, Luis "MIRAA". "Official: Hellraisers add s1mple".
- ^ @s1mpleO (March 2, 2018). "Bro, i watched 100 markeloff demos when I played CS 1.6 and CSGO, I respect him more then anyone and he will always stay my idol in this game" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ Kornyshev, Phil (4 April 2017). "A Brief History of Bans in CS:GO". Esports Insider. Retrieved 22 June 2019.
- ^ Mira, Luis "MIRAA". "s1mple, "I'm sorry for my actions."".
- ^ "Counter-Strike: Global Offensive - Germany - ESL". web.archive.org. Retrieved 2021-08-02.
- ^ "Thorin's Take: No Company for Young Men". Dexerto.com. 8 December 2019. Retrieved 2020-04-27.
- ^ Bajaj, Abhisek (8 March 2019). "s1mple and the unquenched thirst for a Major title". Talkesport. Retrieved 24 June 2019.
- ^ Mira, Luis "MIRAA". "S1mple Slams Flipsid3 Teammates".
- ^ Mira, Luis "MIRAA". "Liquid sign s1mple".
- ^ Mira, Luis "MIRAA". "S1mple Returns to Liquid Roster".
- ^ Lahti, Evan (7 October 2016). "Insane CS:GO Double-Noscope Memorialized as In Game Graffiti". PC Gamer.
- ^ Bektaş, Bünyamin "BenjaCS". "s1mple, "We'll Do Everything We Can"".
- ^ Švejda, Milan "Striker". "S1mple Replaces Zeus in Na'Vi".
- ^ a b Burazin, Zvonimir "Professeur". "Top 20 Players of 2016: s1mple (4)". HLTV. Retrieved 20 March 2019.
- ^ Švejda, Milan "Striker". "GuardiaN and seized Step Down From Natus Vincere".
- ^ Švejda, Milan "Striker". "Natus Vincere Bring in Zeus and Kane, seized Returns".
- ^ Mira, Luis "MIRAA". "Na'Vi Confirm Electronic Signing".
- ^ Mira, Luis "MIRAA". "Top 20 Players of 2017: s1mple (8)". hltv.org. Retrieved 20 March 2019.
- ^ Mira, Luís. "dead: "flamie was at the airport when s1mple said he did not want to come; we wanted NiKo and shox at first" *". HLTV.org. Retrieved 23 October 2021.
- ^ Mira, Luis "MIRAA". "S1mple Wins StarSeries MVP Medal".
- ^ Mira, Luis "MIRAA". "S1mple Claims DH Marseille MVP Award".
- ^ Mira, Luis "MIRAA". "S1mple Claims StarSeries S5 MVP Award".
- ^ Mira, Luis "MIRAA". "S1mple Secures CS:GO Asia Championship MVP".
- ^ Mira, Luis "MIRAA". "S1mple Wins ESL One Cologne MVP Award".
- ^ Chiu, Stephen. "From Unheralded to Undisputed, Astralis 2018". VPEsports.
- ^ Mira, Luis "MIRAA". "S1mple Secures BLAST Pro Series Copenhagen MVP Award".
- ^ Shields, Duncan (March 13, 2019). "Thorin's Take, the Superlative S1mple". VPesports.
- ^ Mira, Luis "MIRAA". "Top 20 Players of 2018 s1mple (1)".
- ^ Chiu, Stephen. "The s1mple Era". VPEsports. Retrieved 22 June 2019.
- ^ "Device: "Cейчас s1mple является лучшим игроком в мире, и это неоспоримо"". Cybersports (in Russian). Retrieved 24 June 2019.
- ^ Steiner, Dustin (8 April 2019). "How S1mple Proved He's CS:GO's GOAT at StarSeries". Retrieved 24 June 2019.
- ^ Phillips, Dom (20 January 2019). "S1mple, The Ukranian [sic] Superstar – Part 2: The King".
- ^ Michael, Cale (22 April 2018). "S1mple continues to prove that he's one of the best CS:GO players in the world". Dotesports. Retrieved 24 June 2019.
- ^ Mira, Luis "MIRAA". "Na'Vi Close in on Boombl4 Deal". hltv.org. Retrieved 22 June 2019.
- ^ "Na'Vi complete reverse sweep of Gambit in CIS RMR event final". gamelevate.com. July 4, 2016. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
- ^ Scott Robertson (31 October 2021). "Na'Vi cap off 3-0 run in Legends Stage with victory over NiP, qualify for PGL Stockholm Major playoffs". Retrieved 8 November 2021.
- ^ Aaron Alford (7 November 2021). "S1mple and NaVi make history, winning first major without dropping a single map". Retrieved 8 November 2021.
- ^ Arron Dempsey (8 November 2021). "s1mple adds Major MVP to collection". hltv.org. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
- ^ "The PGL Major grand finals will be G2 vs. Na'Vi". Upcomer. 2021-11-06. Retrieved 2021-11-21.
- ^ "Game Awards 2021: 'It Takes Two' wins game of the year, Activision Blizzard leaves with no wins, new 'Elden Ring' trailer details lore". Washington Post. 9 December 2021. Retrieved 10 December 2021.
- ^ Mira, Luis "MIRAA". "Top 20 Players of 2017: s1mple (8)". HLTV. Retrieved 20 March 2019.
- ^ Mira, Luis "MIRAA". "Top 20 players of 2018: s1mple (1)". HLTV. Retrieved 22 June 2019.
- ^ Burazin, Zvonimir "Professeur". "Top 20 players of 2019: s1mple (2)". HLTV. Retrieved 29 Feb 2020.
- ^ "Top 20 players of 2020: Introduction". HLTV.org. Retrieved 2021-03-08.
- ^ "BLAST Pro Series Copenhagen 2018". HLTV.org. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
- ^ "FACEIT Major: the EVPs". HLTV.org. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
- ^ Hale, Jacob (13 November 2018). "The winners of the Esports Awards 2018". Retrieved 22 June 2019.
- ^ "Esports Awards 2021 | Esports Awards". esportsawards.com. 30 November 2021. Retrieved 10 December 2021.
- ^ "Game Awards 2021: 'It Takes Two' wins game of the year, Activision Blizzard leaves with no wins, new 'Elden Ring' trailer details lore". Washington Post. 9 December 2021. Retrieved 10 December 2021.
- 1997 births
- Living people
- Ukrainian esports players
- Sportspeople from Kyiv
- Team Liquid players
- Natus Vincere players
- Counter-Strike players
- Twitch (service) streamers