The Ukrainian star becomes the 12th player in Counter-Strike history to reach that milestone.
Once again proving himself as one of Counter-Strike’s all-time best, 23 year-old Oleksander “s1mple” Kostyliev secured a 3rd consecutive tournament MVP award (IEM Cologne, StarLadder CIS RMR, and now ESL Pro League Season 14), adding onto his many previous which now count up to 16.
He is set to break dev1ce’s number, who is currently the record holder with 18 MVP awards to his name.
With substantial numbers put up from the Ukrainian star, Natus Vincere joins Astralis and Team Liquid as the only Intel Grand Slam winners. s1mple was amongst the highest rated in several statistical categories, most notably his overall rating, at an impressive 1.35, placing him just ahead of his top competitor, ZywOo, at 1.31, who finished second with Vitality.
Not only did he add on to his already high statistics, but also to his prize money earnings. As a result of winning Intel Grand Slam Season 3, s1mple, alongside Russian teammate Denis “electronic” Sharipov, have both surpassed a million dollars in prize money awarded. s1mple is now of only 13 players to have earned over a million, currently holding 6th place (at $1,169,838 according to Esports Earnings), only behind the triple-major winning Danish squad of Astralis. Oleksander and Denis are also the only 2 players in the CIS region on that list, with the next closest being Egor “flamie” Vasilyev, at $856,253 (currently ranked 23rd).
All prize earning statistics are derived from Esports Earnings, you can view the full updated list of the top-earning Counter-Strike: Global Offensive players here.
s1mple sent a clear message to his haters
In the post-match interview with Tres “stunna” Saranthus, s1mple had something to say to all of his haters:
“I need new haters, the old ones became my fans.”
To which he immediately added on:
“I want to talk about fans. I love Na’Vi fans, I love CS fans, thanks everyone for watching this game.”
He also said that he’s fired up for the major, which he heard will have a crowd (Author’s note: Semi-confirmed. The PGL Stockholm Major plans to hold a full-capacity crowd if COVID-19 restrictions are lifted, though current regulations only allow for up to 300 spectators, read more about that here from DBLTAP). Along with his team, he hopes to bring excitement to the Counter-Strike fans.
Full post-match interview with s1mple after ESL Pro League S14 win
It is definitely a time to celebrate for Oleksander, as he recently reached his 5th year with Natus Vincere — and it is without a doubt I say he has defined his organization, at least its CS:GO division — and was a crucial part of the team’s success. To commemorate a legendary figure such as him, Natus Vincere released a nearly 2-hour long documentary titled “s1mple formula” which showcases the star’s career since his first appearance in 2013, where he played with other teammates who were also unknown in the scene (at least at the time), all the way to his now decorated name and incredible career that is nowhere near its end.
“s1mple formula — 5 years with NAVI ” Full Documentary
Audio is recommended. English closed captions are available.
How it started vs How it’s going
Here’s to many more trophies, MVPs, and graffitis.