Today it was announced that one of the most iconic, wealthy, and successful players in Counter-Strike history — Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev — has officially left NAVI after nearly nine years with the organization. The news was shared on NAVI’s official X (Twitter) account. The legendary player has now joined Swedish organization BC.Game, which is currently actively building its roster.
s1mple’s achievements
s1mple joined NAVI in August 2016. During his time with the team, he experienced both highs and lows, winning a number of prestigious trophies:
- StarSeries & i-League CS:GO Season 7
- Intel Extreme Masters XIV – World Championship
- BLAST Premier: Global Final 2020
- Intel Extreme Masters XVI – Cologne
- ESL Pro League Season 14
- PGL Major Stockholm 2021
- BLAST Premier: Fall Finals 2021
- BLAST Premier: World Final 2021
- BLAST Premier: Spring Finals 2022
NAVI, with s1mple as a key figure, also won Intel Grand Slam Season 3, which awarded the team a $1 million prize.
s1mple appeared in HLTV’s Top 20 Players of the Year eight times (2016–2023), taking the #1 spot in both 2021 and 2022. Over his nearly nine years with NAVI, he earned more than $1.6 million in prize money, making him one of the most profitable players in CS history.
Break from CS
In October 2023, s1mple was moved to the bench due to personal reasons, with w0nderful stepping in as his replacement. Following that, s1mple played on loan for Team Falcons and FaZe Clan.
With Falcons, he took part in several tournaments and qualifiers for the Perfect World Shanghai Major 2024, though the team did not achieve significant success.
In May 2025, he made his debut with FaZe after broky was benched. s1mple played at IEM Dallas, where FaZe finished 9–12th and he posted a personal rating of 1.11. At the BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025, FaZe reached the quarterfinals but were eliminated by The MongolZ with a 0–2 scoreline. s1mple ended the tournament with an impressive 1.17 rating.
Despite expressing skepticism toward CS2 and not committing to regular practice in the new version, s1mple proved he can still deliver world-class performances.
Community reactions
RhinoStarus:
“The greatest Counter Strike player ever. No doubts. GG s1mple, hopefully you keep playing in CS2 and get back up there.”
Danny Ivanov:
“He was NAVI. NAVI dead now.”
moodzila:
“Finally free from jail.”
There have been no official comments from other players so far.
s1mple’s new home — BC.Game
s1mple’s new team is BC.Game Esports, a Swedish organization currently building its roster under the leadership of in-game leader Nemanja “nexa” Isaković. The team mostly competes in tier-2 and tier-3 events and hasn’t achieved major success yet. Their only notable appearance was at IEM Dallas, where they placed 13–16th.
After the announcement, s1mple shared his thoughts on X:
“Dobby is free. I just want to play, BC.Gam gave me the chance, and they’re serious about building a top-tier team. Let’s see what moves we make and how I can impact things. Maybe some things will change, maybe not — only results will show.
One wise man said — if you want to comeback on tier 1 scene — you need to join tier 3 team. I haven’t done anything for 2 years, it’s time to change that, can’t waste/lose game time sitting on bench.”
This candid message reflects both relief and determination. The “Dobby is free” reference hints at his long-awaited return to a starting roster, free from the bench and contractual restrictions. s1mple’s words also suggest that BC.Game may be only the beginning of a bigger journey — with clear intent to prove he still belongs at the top. His mention of rebuilding from tier-3 shows humility and a pragmatic view of the scene: to regain tier-1 form, one must first regain rhythm, regardless of the level.
Current BC.Game roster:
- Nemanja “nexa” Isaković (IGL)
- Luca “pr1metapz” Voigt
- Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev
- Aleksandar “CacaNito” Kjulukoski
The team’s first official tournament with s1mple will be ESL Challenger League Season 50: Europe – Cup #1, where the winner takes home $12,000 and earns a spot in the regional qualifiers for ESL Challenger League Season 50.
