The GOAT is back! In case you missed it, FaZe benched Helvijs “broky” Saukants last week and have brought in Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev on loan for IEM Dallas 2025 and the BLAST Austin Major. Any s1mple return is big news for Counter-Strike fans, but it’s not without its questions and subtleties. In this quick piece, we’ll break down what to expect from FaZe s1mple – and what it might mean for the pro scene over the coming months.

FaZe’s Current Problems

First, let’s take a quick look at the FaZe Clan team that s1mple will be joining. Over the last few months, things have not been fun for the FaZe gang. Since the arrival of Jonathan “EliGE” Jablonowski, in place of Robin “ropz” Kool, the team have struggled to find consistency and quality in the server. Whilst there are, of course, moments of brilliance from a roster full of such big names, there hasn’t been much to back them up. A series of disappointing finishes and lacklustre performances resulted in FaZe making a significant change – they benched their out-of-form AWPer, broky, and have replaced him with the GOAT of CS:GO, s1mple.

Here’s a quick rundown of FaZe’s event results since the start of the year:

• BLAST Bounty Season 1 (15th place)
• IEM Katowice 2025 (8th)
• PGL Cluj-Napoca 2025 (4th)
• BLAST Open Lisbon 2025 (11th)
• PGL Bucharest 2025 (3rd)
• IEM Melbourne 2025 (8th)
• BLAST Rivals 2025 Season 1 (6th)

For a team like FaZe, under the leadership of arguably the greatest IGL of all time – Finn “karrigan” Andersen – these results are, evidently, not good enough. This is a team that has always made it clear that nothing other than victory is satisfactory, and they will no doubt be hoping that the addition of one of – if not the – most legendary names in the franchise will help them rediscover their winning ways.

s1mple’s Time Away From CS2

Of course, one of the most significant misgivings that many pundits have regarding the s1mple pickup is the fact that he has been out of the professional scene for so long. The GOAT’s last event for NAVI was ESL Pro League Season 18, in October 2023. Since then, other than a smattering of stand-in performances for the Falcons, he has not been on the pro circuit at all.

Now, there are two sides to this debate. One side argues that the current pro scene is so competitive, with the meta constantly shifting and multiple teams vying for success (not to mention the absolute dominance of Vitality of late), that nobody – not even s1mple – could realistically hope to be out of the game for practically 1.5 years, return out of nowhere, and find consistency, impact, and success.

The other side argues that, quite simply (see what we did there?), this is the GOAT that we’re talking about. Sure, he might not be the GOAT of CS2, but put some respect on his name. Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev is one of those names that echoes down the halls of Counter-Strike history, and for good reason. Nobody is arguing that it’s going to be easy, but if there’s anyone who can make it work, surely it has to be him?

s1mple As A Stand-In

S1mple is no stranger to a stand-in run. Whilst most will associate him with NAVI and be, in varying degrees, aware of his time on HellRaisers, FlipSid3, and Liquid, it might surprise some of you to learn that a lot of this time – whether with these teams or with other rosters – was spent in a similar situation to his upcoming stint with FaZe Clan.

He has played as a stand-in for Liquid (during his tenure as a stand-in for the NA org, he earned his infamous Cache graffiti play), NIP, MOUZ, and, most recently, Falcons. Because Counter-Strike is an ever-changing, dynamic space, let’s take a look at his most recent stand-in performances for Falcons to see if we can glean some insight over what s1mple brings to a team.

His first stand-in event with Falcons was the BLAST Premier Spring Showdown, in which Falcons finished 14th out of 16 teams. In this event, s1mple had a slightly lacklustre, middle-of-the-pack performance, ending with a 0.93 rating in Falcons’ final match against Metizport.

Next was the Thunderpick World Championship 2024, in which the Saudi organization bombed out in last place. In both of their 0-2 losses (to 3DMAX and Virtus.pro) Falcons struggled significantly, but s1mple was at the top of the scoreboard. His plays kept them in rounds that were otherwise looking lost, and he seemed to be more than capable of holding his own in the server – often outshining his teammates on a round-by-round basis.

After that event came ESL Challenger Katowice 2024, in which Falcons came 7th out of 8 teams. A loss to SAW had s1mple playing pretty poor CS, ending up with a disappointing 0.94 rating. In his next and final matchup of this tournament – a 0-2 loss to Eternal Fire – s1mple would top the scoreboard on both maps for his team. But this performance wasn’t good enough to drag Falcons over the line.

His final and most recent stand-in stint for Falcons was in the Perfect World Shanghai Major, in which Falcons fell at 12th place, out of 16 teams in the playoffs. Here, s1mple ended the event with a 0.99 rating after 6 maps of play – the same rating as broky in his last event for FaZe.

What Can We Expect?

Of course, one of the beautiful things about Counter-Strike is that, when things click, they just click. There is a chance that the fairytale story comes true, and FaZe s1mple is going to go down as one of the most surprising and successful stand-in runs ever. After all, s1mple is no stranger to standing in, and karrigan doesn’t exactly have a bad track record of playing events with a stand-in on his team.

One thing is for sure – the current FaZe project is in a pretty rough place. Perhaps the addition of a vocal, confident, experienced player with a new mindset and a hunger to prove the haters wrong is precisely what the team needs. Clearly, the internal playstyle and dynamics of the Major-winning FaZe lineup is gone, as are three of the players from that roster. Maybe the injection of a different mindset, playstyle, approach, and mentality is what the team needs to reinvigorate itself and make deep runs in the upcoming tournaments.

However, whilst it’s never a good idea to bet against the GOAT of CS:GO, this challenge will be unlike any other in the Ukrainian AWPer’s career. Professional CS2 is at an all-time high in terms of competition, quality, and team performances. Every team under the sun is constantly fighting to improve and gain an edge, and every event seems to be generating banger after banger. And then, when all is said and done, there’s still the big dog waiting to crush any opponent they face…

Will IEM Dallas 2025 and the BLAST Austin Major be s1mple’s – and Faze’s – time to shine? Or will s1mple’s time in the sun be overshadowed by the continued dominance of an era-hunting Vitality? One thing is for sure – if you want to keep up with the latest Counter-Strike stories, along with tips, tricks, and guides for how to improve your own game, make sure you keep an eye on our blog!