Aleksib on s1mple break: It came out of the blue
We spoke with in-game leader Aleksi "Aleksib" Virolainen before the start of the BLAST Fall Finals about the recent roster change on NAVI.
NAVI will field their new lineup for the first time at BLAST Premier Fall Finals in Copenhagen, where Ihor "w0nderful" Zhdanov is set to fill the shoes of Oleksandr "s1mple" Kostyljev. A big task for the young Ukrainian, who joined the team three weeks ago.
- I think w0nderful fits the team really well. He is Ukrainian and so is NAVI. He fits personality-wise. We match together really well, and I get along with him really well, Aleksi "Aleksib" Virolainen tells Pley.gg before the start of the BLAST Fall Finals in Copenhagen.
NAVI’s new AWP’er was brought in to replace s1mple. The CS superstar shocked the world of Counter-Strike by announcing a break from competitive CS. A tough message for the players of NAVI, who were caught by surprise with the announcement.
- I found out about it in Sydney actually. It came out of the blue kind of. But it’s not my first rodeo in something similar, so you just need to start looking forward and start the process with someone else. If you dwell on all the “what if and what not” I don’t think it helps you at all, Aleksib explains on the Media day at BLAST.
“He wants to make his country proud”
The BLAST Fall Finals in Copenhagen will be the first chance to see Ihor "w0nderful" Zhdanov in action for NAVI. It will also be a big test for the young AWP’er, who has some big shoes to fill.
- Anyone would have some kind of pressure to replace s1mple. But I just think that the way he handles it, he wants to show himself, and he want to make his country proud, and as a player, I think he can do it, Aleksi "Aleksib" Virolainen says.
NAVI and their new roster will take on Cloud9 in the opening round of BLAST Premier Fall Final 2023 tomorrow. The final two days of the event will take place in the Royal Arena in Copenhagen.
You can see the full interview with Aleksib below.
