Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev has spent most of the CS2 era on the sidelines, but now he’s back in action again, standing in for FaZe at the BLAST.tv Austin Major.
During his time away, rival Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut has continued to dominate the scene, including overtaking s1mple’s long-standing record for the most HLTV MVP medals.
But according to s1mple, the outcome could have looked very different if he hadn’t taken a break, he explains in an interview with HLTV.
Question by HLTV: One of the main storylines this year is ZywOo taking over the MVP record. Did it hurt a little bit?
– Not really, because I have not been playing. I’m pretty sure it would be different if I had played in all those months that I missed. But yeah, I’m looking forward to facing him again, he’s the best player in the world. And let’s see.
Most HLTV MVP medals
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ZywOo – 26 
s1mple – 21
device – 19
Back at a Major
In the interview with HLTV, s1mple also spoke about attending his first since the Paris Major in 2023. The experience of playing on the Major stage is something he specifically has missed, he explains.
– It feels nice to be back at the Majors and see a lot of people. It feels like a Major and not some other tournament. I have missed playing on the stage at Majors – Playing on the stage in front of fans at the Major is the coolest thing that can happen.
s1mple and FaZe are back on the server later today when they face 3DMAX at 22:00 CEST. A win secures them a spot in Stage 3.
You can watch the entire interview with s1mple here.
