After several months away, one of the greatest Counter-Strike players of all time, Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyljev, is ready to make his professional CS2 debut with Team Falcons, the organisation announced today.
The past Major winner is on a one-month loan from his previous squad Natus Vincere, which means he’ll fill in for Falcons at the BLAST Premier: Spring Showdown. The Falcons stated earlier today that Mohammad “BOROS” Malhas had been moved to the bench after the club failed to qualify for the PGL Copenhagen Major.
While this shift has the potential to become more permanent, it appears to be transient for the time being. S1mple’s quick thank you to NAVI for the “opportunity” does not appear to be a goodbye, since the Ukrainian organisation is still featured in his X bio and banner. Falcons director Grant Rousseau confirmed the loan is temporary, stating that it will allow the team “the flexibility to make the permanent roster decision needed going into” future events.
S1mple took a long break from competitive Counter-Strike last year for a variety of reasons, including his initial disdain of CS2 and the necessity to “fix documents” and “take care of other people” in his life. NAVI has been competing with w0nderful on the AWP in S1mple’s absence, and they qualified for the PGL Copenhagen Major this week with a 3-1 performance in the European RMR A event.
In recent weeks, s1mple has stated that he is considerably satisfied with CS2, following multiple improvements, notably the well-received A Call to Arms. At IEM Katowice, s1mple stated in an interview that he expects to make a full-time return after the Major, where he will serve as the sixth man.
It’s just for a short time, but the Falcons have finally signed another major star after pursuing numerous prominent players during the roster construction period in late 2023. The Saudi Esports-backed organisation is said to have targeted NiKo, m0nesy, and Twistzz in recent months.
