The comfortable calm that came in CS GO after the end of the Cologne tournament and the departure of pro-players on vacation was stirred up on August 13 by loud news: s1mple will miss BLAST Premier: Fall Groups 2022. Various experts immediately appeared from everywhere, rumors began to spread, they say, this is the end of his career, Simple has won everything he can, he has no problems with money, and he Counter Strike is no longer interesting. In addition, some observers recalled that s1mple played a lot of Valorant and perhaps he decided to challenge himself by moving to a completely new eSports discipline.
However, the reason for Simple's departure is very prosaic and boring, in contrast to the versions put forward by the community. He spoke about this back on June 15, 2022, when he stated that he needed a short break from endless competitions in order to solve the life problems that had befallen him:
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Moving to another country;
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Establishment in a new location;
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Completing the necessary documents.
Chronology of events (part 1)
S1mple will miss BLAST Premier: Fall Groups 2022, although due to personal circumstances, but largely forced.
The primary source of Sasha’s decision must be sought in the events of late February 2022, namely, in the hostilities initiated by Russia on the territory of Ukraine. Simple, as a citizen of Ukraine and the sporting pride of his country, had to look for a safe place to live and train.
There is a proverb that 1 move equals 2 fires. It means that in terms of the level of stress, a change of place of residence or relocation to another country exceeds the damage to the human psyche caused by natural disasters. Now imagine yourself in the place of Simple, who solves problems with moving and at the same time must demonstrate the highest level in CS GO in front of his fans. It is not surprising that he needed an additional break in addition to vacation.
Chronology of events (part 2)
We further unwind the tangle of events that led to s1mple missing BLAST Premier: Fall Groups 2022.
On February 24, 2022, when hostilities began, Navi, led by Simple, were playing in the playoffs of the prestigious Kaeser competition IEM Katowice 2022. Natus Vincere were eliminated in the semifinals on February 26, losing to the guys from G2. Most likely, due to stress and worries about their loved ones who remained in Ukraine under rocket fire.
In March 2022, Sasha was in Poland, because due to the events described above, he could not return to Ukraine (the borders were closed to entry). All this time, he lived in an apartment that was provided to him free of charge by Team Kenguin, an esports club from Poland. As Simple wrote later, he was very grateful to Team Kinguin for their help and support.
Chronology of events (part 3)
The next thing that became known about Kostylev’s life after his stay in Poland: he issued a special visa regime for himself (about family members is unknown) in Portugal, which is called temporary protection. Its essence is that the European Union provides such a visa to refugees from war or political persecution for 1 year, and for 1 year the refugee can stay in the EU absolutely legally. Before the outbreak of hostilities in Ukraine, this visa regime was not in effect. It was renewed specifically to legalize the stay of Ukrainian refugees in Europe.
Having received temporary protection, Simple began to think about where he wanted to settle: in Spain or Portugal. Sasha settled on these countries because he liked the people and the climate.
When Simple said on June 15 that he needed to fill out documents and settle in a new place, he apparently already planned to take up this issue after Cologne and not play at one of the August or September tournaments. So, we learned that s1mple will miss BLAST Premier: Fall Groups 2022 only in mid-August.
Will s1mple return to Navi
The CS GO community was shocked by Simple’s decision not to compete at Blast. The fact that where Navi is, there is Sasha has become so commonplace that now his absence causes great discomfort. For example, official statistics claim that since August 4, 2016 (the day Kostylev transferred to Navi), Simple participated in all his team’s matches. Always.
However, there is no reason for despair. On Instagram, Simple posted a post with the words “To be continued,” i.e. to be continued.
And, indeed, there will be a continuation. Fans will be able to see the world eSports star in the “Born to Win” uniform. already on August 31, 2022, when the new season of the ESL Pro League 16 competition starts. This has already been officially announced by the management of Navi. So s1mple will miss BLAST Premier: Fall Groups 2022 and the “Born to Win” bootcamp, and then return for new victories and, possibly, the title of best player of the decade, which may be awarded to him based on the results of the November Major in Rio.
Who will replace Simple on Blast
Kostylev’s place will be temporarily taken by Daniil Valitov, performing under the nickname Headtr1ck, from the Navi junior team. He is now 18 years old, he comes from Ukraine and is considered the most promising player, capable of fully replacing someone from the main Natus Vincere CS GO roster in 1-2 years.
I assume that Headtrick’s participation in Blast is the desire of Navi’s management to give the young player a taste of the gunpowder of major tournaments, to play on stage in order to stop being afraid of it. In general, this is a kind of stress test that will allow you to understand whether Daniil is psychologically ready to reach a new level, or whether he still needs time for additional preparation. This is especially true because a few months ago, Headtrick spoke of confidence in his ability to become the next Counter Strike star, like Beat or Monesi. However, there are doubts about this statement. In Daniil’s biography there is an episode that speaks of his susceptibility to strong anxiety: at the very first LAN, Hedtrick’s hands were shaking at the age of 13. Although he may have learned to control his emotions at the age of 18, Navi will win another victory, and s1mple will miss BLAST Premier: Fall Groups 2022 for good reason.
