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In an interesting turn of events, Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev, won’t be playing for his team at IEM Sydney 2023 CS2 tournament. Largely touted as the best Counter-Strike player in the world, s1mple has been vocal about the state of Counter-Strike 2 upon the game’s release. While the exact reason is not known, his team, Natus Vincere (NaVi) is set to appear at the next ESL tournament without him. Moreover, his place in front of the monitor will be taken by the team’s coach, Andrii “B1ad3” Gorodenskyi.
NaVi’s statement regarding B1ad3 replacing s1mple prior to CS2 IEM Sydney 2023 tournament
The IEM Sydney 2023 tournament is going to be among the first competitions to feature the latest iteration of Counter-Strike. A tournament fought between sixteen teams will feature a prize pot of $250,000, in which NaVi is set to face Apeks in the first round in Group A.
However, they are going to have to face them without their star player. The official statement from the team doesn’t go into any details about the reasoning behind this. All we know is that s1mple will be replaced by the team’s coach, B1ad3. Of course, that didn’t stop the Counter-Strike fans from speculating.
Fan speculation and reaction to s1mple’s absence
CS:GO and CS2 fans were quick to jump to conclusions on this topic. Many thought it was due to s1mple’s statements regarding the state of the game. Some thought he was being a diva about it, forgetting that the Ukranian player is a consummate professional when it comes to competing.
The most likely answer is far simpler, however. As most Ukranian players had to relocate due to the situation in their home region, s1mple and his other countrymen from NaVi have been living in Poland. While others have managed to get a permanent EU residential permit, Oleksandr’s permit is still temporary pending permanent status. For that reason, if he were to travel to Sydney, there is no guarantee that he would be allowed to return to Poland.
If this is indeed the reason why he won’t be playing at IEM Sydney 2023, then it’s laudable that the team took the safer option. In this case, they prioritized the well-being of their star player, opting to make the difficult decision to replace him with their coach for the tournament. Of course, while the replacement is official, the reasoning is still a rumour, but seems to be the most plausible outcome. Time will tell how the team will fare with their interesting new lineup.
For more Counter-Strike 2 coverage on N4G Unlocked, check out Top 7 Pro Crosshairs in Counter-Strike 2, How to Change Your FOV in CS2, and How to Play Ranked in CS2.