The greatest player in CS:GO history turned 26 on Monday the 2nd and to honor this occasion let's turn the spotlights, roll out a red carpet and celebrate the brilliant career of Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev. Three-time Esports Awards champion (2018, 2021 and 2022), only player chosen three times as the best in the world in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive by HLTV (2019, 2021 and 2022), selected as the best esports player in 2021 by the Game Awards... yes, the Ukrainian is a GOAT in the electronic sports world. The sum of so many individual titles, historic plays and trophies with his team, resulted in the crown of ESL Player of the Decade.
s1mple becomes ESL Player of the Decade
Sasha, nickname outside the game, is a man of many achievements, but few interviews, but I had the joy and privilege of having an exclusive chat with Natus Vincere's superstar in April and I want to bring it to those of you who didn't have access to the physical publication at the time.
With the arrival of Counter-Strike 2 and his birthday, nothing makes more sense than remembering some of the star's highlights and getting to know him a bit better. I had the opportunity to interview him on the way from a NAVI's event to the hotel where he stayed in Rio de Janeiro and Sasha was very receptive and friendly, even though he arrived from an international flight that day and participated in the Meet & Greet just before.
I started by asking him if he saw himself as the greatest of all time and if he deserved to be top 1 in the HLTV rankings every time he was chosen.
“I feel like I deserved all those years of top 1 player. And there were years I was top 2 and ZywOo was top 1 (2019 and 2020). At some point I remeber when it was online and both of us played Major qualifiers online... and nobody recognized CIS teams as good teams so they never gave MVP medals from this tournament. And in 2020 I think I would have number one as well if I had those MVP medals.
The year 2020 was atypical. With the pandemic, tournaments were postponed and even cancelled, such as the Major in Rio, which was only held at the end of 2022. But, it was in 2021 that s1mple reached his highest high as a team by lifting a trophy at PGL Major Stockholm. The celebration was at the PGL afterparty and a nightclub in the Swedish capital with Christopher “GeT_RiGhT” and his friends and with the presence of NAVI'S owner, Maksym Krippa.
Instagram/@simpleo
“I told him (owner) that he was too old (to party). He is over 40 years old. I told him that soon he would go to sleep and wouldn't be able to stay with us anymore. We were partying until 6 am. It was nice.”
Sasha never hid this "party" side. During his stay in Rio de Janeiro he played poker and socialized at FURIA's House. The player, however, knows how to separate his social life from his work and his professionalism and talent are seen with good eyes by NAVI, the organization that opened their doors to him in 2016 and renewed his contract until 2025.
“I consider the owner as a friend, but I'm playing for his organization and I need to do everything 100%. So my teammates see that I'm doing the same amount of work that they do. Maksym is a very strong guy and NAVI is lucky to have him. He is a big fan of Counter Strike. The extended contract was a recognition of my work alongside my teammates.”
The 26-year-old pro player participated in 13 Majors (between 2014 and 2016 he was left out due to an ESL ban) and is the record holder for MVP medals, having accumulated 21 from 2016 to 2022. At IEM Cologne, "Cathedral of CS", he was chosen as the most valuable player on three occasions: 2018, 2021 and 2022. In addition to being MVP at the Stockholm Major.
“My medals are at my parents' house, not all of them, some I gave as gifts to my friends. And one of them I gave away to help Ukraine.”
HLTV
When the War in Ukraine began in February 2022, the star was competing at IEM Katowice, in Poland. The team was eliminated in the semis three days after the first bombings in Kiev, the city of s1mple and his entire family. Before IEM Katowice, NAVI was on a six title streak in Tier 1 tournaments.
With the conflicts between Russia and Ukraine, s1mple's family was forced to leave their home country and move, their new home became the Polish capital Warsaw. The player, however, was left without a permanent address.
“I'm living everywhere, but when I have free time I stay with them. Before the war, my team and I were winning everyone. That's what I 100% know. And after it was bad time, I guess. It was very hard to accept it but from time to time it became easier. I don't know how I am right now, but I definitely changed a lot.
With the tension of the war, the Ukrainian's psychological health ended up resulting in severe back pain that showed up a week after the attacks in his home country. For recovery, he focused on the gym and made sure to reinforce the importance of exercise in the life of a pro player, as they spend a lot of time sitting.
"You need to go to the gym, have to have good food and you have to have a sleeping schedule. It's the same as any other sport and some people don't understand this."
s1mple on his first day at NAVI
In addition to the physical changes, both in relation to his body and his address, other changes emerged for s1mple over time: maturity came. The Sasha I've observed over the last year is an approachable, polite guy with a friendly smile. Of course, that's the s1mple of now, but it wasn't always like this. In the past, the player had a reputation for being more "childish", toxic and speaking his mind without any filters.
The best way to define s1mple...he is a rebel who is very dedicated, committed...always has been with what he was set out to do. He was one of the first guys to show up at practice room. A guy who has always been very talented. Controversial, perhaps for cultural reasons... The language barrier resulted in his involvement in a lot of controversy back then.[...] But he has always been an authentic guy - said Luis "peacemaker", s1mple's coach during his time at Liquid in 2016.
Peacemaker talks about de s1mple
In fact, one of the controversies during Liquid's time involved Epitácio "TACO", who played for Luminosity. An argument during an FPL match escalated and ended up on Twitter.
S1mple at the time was very cheeky, he really was out there, but it was in a fun way. He was mocking people in TS and in a PUG he killed me with a knife. I started making fun of him in the chat and he made fun of me back. The argument reached Twitter and fer said he was going to beat S1mple up. Then when there was a LAN and we played against Liquid in the semifinal (MLG Columbus 2016) that cold did that jump shot. After the game we met at the hotel restaurant, talked, exchanged ideas, laughed and took a photo to represent peace - recalled TACO.
The truce pic =)
Just a parenthesis in this article to remember that it was in 2016, in a three-month window, that Marcelo "coldzera" immortalized his 1v4 play at Mirage (MLG Columbus) and that s1mple also got his graffiti - which became a tattoo on his arm - in 1v2 no scope at Cache (ESL One Cologne). Back to the article...
Today, meeting people, getting closer to them, traveling and having different experiences is what delights the player most. The tattoo of an airplane on the hand is a permanent symbol that demonstrates this passion.
“I like to know other people, different nationalities, different people with different approaches to this life. It's interesting when you visit new countries. I also have a tattoo with a Japanese tiger. I don't know 100% the meaning but it definitely means power and there is this one in Spanish (Sigue tu sueño) that is 'Follow your Dream'. I love Spain and I like the Spanish language as well.”
Despite not speaking Spanish (yet), s1mple speaks Ukrainian, English and Russian.
“I was studying Chinese for half a year in 2016, but after Liquid invited me to their organization and live in the United States... Now my Chinese is very bad… very bad.”
S1mple was 18 years old when he joined Liquid and set foot in the United States for the first time. It was the start of his first individual titles. In his debut on HLTV's list of the 20 best players of the year, he went straight to top 4. As a result, his fan base grew and he is currently the CS pro player with the most followers on Instagram, totaling 1.6 million.
“I think I realized I had fans after I joined NAVI when people started to recognize me. I have a lot of fans in Ukraine and after I think it's Brazil. Here there are a lot of CS fans. A lot. I think more than in the Ukraine."
At the age of 11, Sasha already managed to stand out at CS 1.6 with his 21-year old brother at internet cafes. "I destroyed him. He was always surprised how I did it".
“I had a normal life. My mother was a doctor and my father was in the army. So I was just studying and never missed any lessons in school. But when I had bad grade, my father and mother just took my keyboard. They always wanted me to learn something new.
His investment in his gaming career took him to the top of all electronic sports and he was recognized at the Esports Oscars on three occasions when he won Esports PC player of the year. Like any person who stands out in their field, the financial reward came in sponsorships, contracts, titles, medals and even a gold bar, with the Intel Grand Slam, a US$ 1 million bonus for winning IEM Katowice 2020, DreamHack Masters Spring 2021, IEM Cologne 2021 and ESL Pro League Season 14.
“I have a few houses. One of the houses that I bought, the biggest one, I can't say the price, but the most expensive one is in Dubai. I like it there, it’s a comfortable place to stay when I have free time.”
S1mple em Dubai
S1mple's passion for traveling is not just restricted to Spain and the United Arab Emirates. The player is crazy about Brazil and Sasha's "brazilian way" is undeniable.
“What I love most about Brazil is the weather and the ocean. I love the ocean and in the future I want to find time to do surfing. I ove surfing. In Brazil you have big waves, ocean, good weather and the people. They are crazy but in a good way. I feel like they have passion...fire.”
All the success achieved allowed him to interact with several other stars, such as Neymar, who has already received Sasha at his home in Mangaratiba, Brazil. The NAVI star's connection with football doesn't stop there. S1mple is a fan of the Champions League and Premier League.
“I played football before I started as a professional CS:GO player. For four or five years I went to a club and I always enjoyed playing football. For me it's the best sport, if I weren't a CS player I would be 100% a footballer”.
In addition to his friendship with Neymar, the Ukrainian built good ties with some Counter Strike players. In Sasha's understanding, the word "friend" has a different meaning, something with a stronger bond, but he includes Denis “electroNic” Sharipov, his former NAVI teammate for six years, in this list. In addition to electroNic, Spencer “Hiko” Martin, with whom he played at Liquid, and Håvard “rain” Nygaard are also good friends of the star.
"I can always talk to Hiko. Even if he needs some help he knows that he always can count on me".
S1mple is very close to his parents. They have gone to tournaments and they always cheer on their son. Sasha says he is inspired by several people, including Oleg, his father.
“I would say my biggest inspiration is my dad. I follow a lot of people, I always like to learn something from them."
With maturity, his inspirations, learnings, victories and defeats, the athlete serves as an influence for many people. The CS:GO cycle has come to an end with all the baggage of achievements and experiences - positive and negative - and the best player in the world already has set a new goal.
“Now I want more in CS2. I just want to win a lot of tournaments. This is going to be something new for me.”
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