In a move that caught many off guard, BC.Game announced the permanent signing of Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev, one of the most celebrated players in Counter-Strike history. This shift is notable because s1mple is leaving Natus Vincere, the team where he built his legendary career.
Known as a three-time HLTV Player of the Year, s1mple will now take on the AWPing role at BC.Game, replacing Tim “nawwk” Jonasson, who has been benched since June. It’s quite a turn of events, especially after s1mple’s impressive performance at the Austin Major, where he helped FaZe reach the playoffs while filling in for Helvijs “broky” Saukants.
After FaZe’s quarter-final exit to The MongolZ, many wondered if s1mple would stay with FaZe. However, the team decided to reinstate Broky instead, as Finn “karrigan” Andersen revealed during IEM Cologne, clarifying that FaZe’s talks were about Broky, not s1mple, who was still under contract with NAVI at the time.
For almost nine years, s1mple was synonymous with Natus Vincere, joining them in August 2016 after a stint with Liquid. His time with NAVI was decorated with 17 major trophies, including the 2021 Stockholm Major, an Intel Grand Slam, and 21 MVP awards. He also featured in every HLTV Top 20 Player of the Year ranking from 2016 through 2023.
He stepped down from NAVI’s roster in October 2023, citing personal matters and issues with documentation. In 2024, s1mple had two loan periods with Falcons before joining FaZe for the last two events of 2025, including IEM Dallas and the Austin Major.
Instead of finishing his NAVI contract, which was will expire at the end of 2025, s1mple chose to start fresh with BC.Game. So he will be competing at a lower tier for now, as BC.Game is ranked 66th in the global VRS rankings. Guess they’re hoping he can rediscover his peak form here.
With s1mple joining, BC.Game’s roster now includes:
- Nemanja “nexa” Isaković (Serbia)
- Luca “pr1metapz” Voigt (Germany)
- Aleksandar “CacaNito” Kjulukoski (North Macedonia)
- Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev (Ukraine)
Benched players remain Joakim “jkaem” Myrbostad (Norway) and Tim “nawwk” Jonasson (Sweden).
It’s a bit of a climb for BC.Game to rise with s1mple on board, but you know, sometimes a fresh start is just what a player needs. I wonder how s1mple will adapt to this new chapter. Will he find his best form again?
