S1mple Joins BC.Game Esports: CS Legend Begins New Chapter After Leaving NAVI

Legendary Ukrainian Counter-Strike player Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev has officially left Natus Vincere after nine years with the organization. Following announcements on July 28 via the team's social media channels, s1mple confirmed shortly after he would be continuing his career with BC.Game Esports. Esports Charts looks back on the journey of this legendary player, highlighting the challenges and obstacles he has faced in recent years, while also considering his prospects with a new organization.

The Legend of Natus Vincere

S1mple is one of the most successful and popular professional Counter-Strike players, boasting dozens of international tournament victories, including the PGL Major Stockholm 2021 and the prestigious Intel Grand Slam series. HLTV.org named him the world’s best player in 2018, 2021, and 2022, and he has earned an impressive 21 MVP awards.

S1mple earned the majority of his accomplishments with Natus Vincere, where he had played since August 2016. He was a key member of the team, known primarily for his role as a sniper, and even served as team captain for a period. Without a doubt, he can be called the face of the team — he appeared in advertisements, took part in shows, and was an important part of the NAVI brand.

Things changed in October 2023, when Counter-Strike 2 released. During this transition, s1mple took a brief break but struggled to quickly adjust to the new version once he returned. Shortly after, he went inactive, and Natus Vincere brought in fellow Ukrainian player Ihor “w0nderful” Zhdanov to fill his spot.

After going inactive, s1mple remained under contract with NAVI, even though the team no longer needed his services, having quickly built a roster filled with foreign players. For quite some time, s1mple was essentially left to his own devices — playing show matches, streaming occasionally, and even launching his Counter-Strike training course.

Return to the professional scene

In 2024, s1mple made his first attempt to return to the professional Counter-Strike scene by stepping in as a stand-in for Team Falcons. In March, he helped the team compete at BLAST Premier: Spring Showdown 2024, and later in the year, he played with them at Perfect World Shanghai Major 2024: European RMR A. While s1mple’s temporary role didn’t translate into tournament victories for Team Falcons, it did boost the team’s media visibility in a significant way.

S1mple at ESL Challenger Katowice 2024 / Photo: ESL

S1mple is a one-of-a-kind player with a massive fanbase that tunes in to watch him play, regardless of the team he’s on. His presence helped Team Falcons draw huge audiences. At the Thunderpick World Championship 2024, although the team only placed 13th-16th, they easily outperformed all other teams in both average and peak viewership numbers. The same trend was seen during the qualifiers for the Shanghai Major.

S1mple at BLAST.tv Austin Major / Photo: BLAST

S1mple made his second attempt to return to the pro scene in May 2025, once again stepping in as a stand-in for FaZe Clan at the Intel Extreme Masters Dallas 2025 and BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025 tournaments. This time, he performed significantly better, helping the team reach the major’s playoff bracket. Fans started saying that s1mple had finally regained his form and was ready to return to the “big leagues,” but it seemed he had a different plan for his career.

A new chapter begins with BC.Game Esports

On July 28, it was announced that s1mple had signed with BC.Game Esports — a move that surprised many fans, since this organization is far from the top-tier teams he previously represented. According to NAVI officials, after the major, the club received multiple transfer offers for s1mple, all of which were “forwarded to him for consideration.” In other words, s1mple personally chose BC.Game Esports from among several options to continue his career.

BC.Game as Cloud9 sponsor

So, what do we know about BC.Game Esports? BC.Game is an online casino headquartered in Sweden and Belize. The company first entered the esports world as a sponsor, with its logo appearing on the jerseys of Cloud9’s Counter-Strike team. Recently, BC.Game established its own esports division, BC.Game Esports, represents the company in competitions.

Their Counter-Strike team was formed in the summer of 2024, with the original roster starting to come together around Ladislav “GuardiaN” Kovács, another former Natus Vincere player. Since then, BC.Game Esports has primarily featured European players like Jonas “Lekr0” Olofsson, Joakim “jkaem” Myrbostad, Nemanja “nexa” Isaković, and others. Frequent roster changes are typical for the organization. Even now, as s1mple joins, the team doesn’t have a full five-player lineup.

Ex-BC.Game roster

At the time of s1mple’s transfer, BC.Game Esports was ranked just 67th in the HLTV.org global rankings. In 2025, the team mostly competed in smaller Tier 2 and Tier 3 events like CCT Season 2 & 3 and A1 Gaming League Season 10. Their most high-profile tournament was the Intel Extreme Masters Dallas 2025, which they qualified for through the European qualifiers. At Dallas, BC.Game Esports finished in 13th-16th place and was knocked out by FaZe Clan — the very team s1mple was playing for at the time.

What’s next for s1mple at BC.Game Esports?

It’s hard to say how s1mple’s career will unfold at BC.Game Esports. Even after his period of inactivity, with his skill level, he probably could have found a spot on a team ranked in the HLTV.org top 30. But now, it’s unlikely we’ll see him competing in major tournaments anytime soon — BC.Game Esports will need time to climb the rankings and start getting invites to big events. That said, s1mple’s signing might just be the first step toward building a bigger project, and he himself will need time to regain his top form.

There’s no doubt that s1mple will be a major media asset for BC.Game Esports. To put it in perspective, s1mple has nearly 840,000 followers on X (formerly Twitter), while BC.Game Esports’ account has under 20,000. His presence will surely boost the team’s visibility, potentially attract sponsors, and maybe even draw other players to join the roster.

Fans are still divided on how to view s1mple’s career path. On one hand, they hope he’ll finally get consistent practice and tournament play. On the other hand, many feel he deserves a more high-profile organization. Still, s1mple commented on his decision by quoting his former coach Andrij "B1ad3" Ghorodensjkyj: “If you want to get back to Tier 1, start with Tier 3”. Perhaps this is exactly the first step the GOAT needs to take on his journey back to the top.