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Use code THORIN at for 10% off an order of GamerSupps' delicious energy formula. ► Join the Scrilluminati to get exclusive perks and support this channel: ► Check out a previous CS Reflections here: Oleksandr “s1mple“ Kostyljev, currently inactive long-time star of Natus Vincere, is the star of the 332nd Episode of 'Reflections'. This episode is part two of two about s1mple's career. s1mple is widely considered the greatest player in CS:GO history and was voted ESL Player of the Decade. He has three times been awarded HLTV number one player of the year (2018, 2021 and 2022) and twice ranked second on their list (2019 and 2020). s1mple's journey to the top was a winding one, though. After breaking out with HellRaisers at Dreamhack Winter 2014, he soon found himself under B1ad3's tutelage in FlipSid3. Team-mates making mistakes frustrated him and saw him parting ways with the team after some successful runs, including a top four run at ESWC 2015 with Hiko standing in. Hiko would help get s1mple into Team Liquid and the results were immediately explosive, as Team Liquid were on map point in two games during the semi-final of the MLG Columbus major, bombed Dreamhack Malmo and saw s1mple soon heading out of the team only to return as a stand-in and help the side reach the ESL One Cologne 2016 major final. This run caught the attention of Na'Vi and got s1mple the call up he had been waiting for his whole career. Despite winning a number of trophies in Na'Vi and the team being considered dangerous throughout it wasn't until 2021 many considered the line-up worthy of s1mple's talents. Na'Vi had lost two major finals with him in their ranks, despite him being considered already CS:GO's greatest talent. As the online era came to a close, Na'Vi gave s1mple the platform to show himself the game's best ever star. Na'Vi would win the Intel Grand Slam, sweep the PGL Stockholm major without a single map loss and s1mple's numbers at the biggest tournament in many years cemented by so many called him the best to ever do it. Na'Vi was still an elite team in most of 2022, but in-game leader issues denied them many titles. 2023 has been a much more troubled year, with a bizarre international line-up pivot around the summer and with the release of CS2 s1mple has decided to take a break from competitive play. In part two, s1mple discusses B1ad3 as a coach, B1t's arrival into Na'Vi, the 'what if' of the 2021 line-up, if NiKo could be considered the CS:GO , his rivalry with ZywOo and his plans for the future. This interview was recorded on the 4th of December, 2023. ► Time-line of topics discussed: 00:00 Prime device 02:28 How does he keep grinding? 03:33 Team concept 04:48 B1ad3 07:42 B1ad3 moving s1mple off the AWP 09:11 B1ad3's vision for Na'Vi 11:02 The 'what if' of the 2020 line-up after the Katowice stomp 12:37 Online period 13:36 Rotation style 14:37 B1t 18:04 Na'Vi 2021 18:48 Na'Vi dossiers 21:18 Getting frustrated with team-mates 23:35 Na'Vi dominance interupted by military conflict 27:59 If Na'Vi wins PGL Antwerp does Boombl4 stay? 28:31 Playing with Aleksib 30:48 ZywOo rivalry 34:44 NiKo 37:52 Does he think he is the ? 39:19 If we made s1mple win MLG Columbus would it have changed his drive? 41:17 Thinking he might not win the major? 42:34 Should he have won HLTV top spot in 2019 or 2020? 43:49 Will he be number one again in the future? 44:30 What does he think of CS2? 45:46 Playing in international line-ups 47:14 Dealing with 2022 48:57 Best s1mple match 50:24 Beef with me? 51:44 Final words Part one: EsportsBet is the world's premier crypto esports odds matrix. Get a first time deposit bonus of 50% on up to 100 USDT! ► Check out bite-sized Thorin on my new clips channel: ► Follow me on social media: ► You can discuss this content at my Discord server: ► This video was kindly supported by: Matt, Pugnatio, Rajcula Frisky Ahmed Hadjou touken_ Tobias Bernasconi Animosity Tosh Jensen Goh Special thanks go out to JerCkysMiNi0n. #s1mple #ZywOo #Thorin
