Counter-Strike legend Oleksandr ‘s1mple’ Kostyliev is returning to competitive play with FaZe Clan after going on hiatus since November last year.
On loan from former team Natus Vincere, s1mple will replace Helvijs ‘broky’ Saukants for BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025 and Intel Extreme Masters Dallas 2025.
The CSGOAT is back – and he's on our side now.
Joining us for IEM Dallas and the Austin Major, please welcome @s1mpleO 🐐 pic.twitter.com/O1o5Mdal4k
— FaZe Esports (@FaZeEsports) May 5, 2025
UK Counter-Strike community react in excitement
In reaction to the news, some took to social media with giddy excitement to see the Counter-Strike legend compete at a Major once again.
lol
lmao even
holy shit s1mple is back. honestly, if there was a team that used to be exciting that he can make exciting to watch in _any_ capacity, this might be the perfect fit
2025 shaping up to be a crazy ass year https://t.co/yudUSmlC39— steel (@JoshNissan) May 5, 2025
YES YES I DON'T CARE IF HE'S BAD THIS IS JUST OBJECTIVELY THE MOST W FUN MOVE POSSIBLE
SKYROCKET THE VIEWING FIGURES WE HAVE S1MPLE BACK AT A MAJOR https://t.co/tBJk6cP9pL pic.twitter.com/tkBoXy4TmX
— Travis (@TravCS) May 5, 2025
On the topic of performance, his previous appearances with Team Falcons have been lacklustre for the level of talent he’s known for. Having not reached beyond 7th place during the entirety of last year, s1mple’s performance has been brought into question, with 2024 possibly being the twilight of his career. However, this year brings a new opportunity for s1mple, as put best by Counter-Strike on-air talent, James Banks.
We now have S1mple, donk, ZywOo and m0NESY competing at the same time…S1mple has the chance to prove the haters wrong again, and doing it under karrigan is perfect, I hope S1mple has the highest motivation ever as this is looking like a movie script 🤩!
— James Banks 🇺🇦 (@BanKsEsports) May 5, 2025
Meanwhile, others took inspiration from his namesake and put it plain and s1mple.
Legends never die
— Hugo (@HugoTV) May 5, 2025
The last time s1mple stood in for a team at a major he earned this pic.twitter.com/J2O4n0VyNn
— Adam Hawthorne (@dinkotv) May 5, 2025
s1mple will make his debut with the team at IEM Dallas 2025, set to take place in a few weeks on the 19th of May, with much anticipation from the entire Counter-Strike community.
Having written for Esports News UK since 2022, I’ve cultivated an extensive knowledge of all things esports.
Covering a wide variety of topics during my time as an esports journalist, it’s safe to say I’m a jack of all trades, if you’ll pardon the pun.
