Top 20 players of 2018: s1mple (1)

Oleksandr "⁠s1mple⁠" Kostyliev takes the No.1 spot in our top 20 ranking of 2018, powered by EGB.com, after a historic year in which he was ahead of the pack by almost every metric and hit peak levels never witnessed before.

Top 20 players of 2018: Introduction

s1mple’s rise to stardom began in early 2014, when he played at the Voronezh Cup, an $8,300 tournament with some quality CIS sides in attendance, including an HR.mix led by Kyrylo "⁠ANGE1⁠" Karasiow. s1mple, then only 16 years old, was a key part of the Hashtag team that won the tournament over 97club, averaging a 1.13 rating, still a fair distance away from teammate Georgi "⁠WorldEdit⁠" Yaskin, who had a tournament-high 1.24 rating.

With that success, s1mple understood that he was destined to become a professional player, but he only embraced a career in esports closer to the end of the year. In September, HellRaisers came knocking as they sought a replacement for Dauren "⁠AdreN⁠" Kystaubayev, with s1mple earning a permanent spot on the team after impressing as a stand-in in FACEIT League Season 2.

In his first months as a full HellRaisers, s1mple helped the team to a second-place finish at the Game Show Season 1 Finals and to playoff appearances at ESWC 2014 and at the DreamHack Winter Major, ending the year with a 1.11 LAN rating. Still, he found himself out of the team just two weeks into 2015 due to his ESL ban, which would rule him out of two of the three Majors that were held that year, and his controversial on-stream remarks about German people.

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s1mple was not out of action for long, though, as just 24 hours after being removed from HellRaisers he was recruited by dAT, reuniting with Andrey "⁠B1ad3⁠" Gorodenskiy and WorldEdit. It was in that team, who signed for FlipSid3 Tactics in February, that s1mple had the opportunity to announce himself to the world, with the young Ukrainian putting in incredible numbers at every LAN event, despite the team’s shortcomings.

That summer, s1mple’s hot temper would get the best of him as he announced on Social Media that he would not play again for FlipSid3 Tactics following the team’s semi-final exit at ESWC, which they attended with Spencer "⁠Hiko⁠" Martin as a stand-in, venting his frustration at the number of mistakes that his teammates made.

After a brief time with Evolution, s1mple jumped at the chance to compete on LAN again as he joined HellRaisers ahead of the DreamHack Cluj-Napoca 2015 Major Qualifier, where he was once again a one-man army, averaging a 1.28 rating despite the team finishing in 9th-12th place, outside the qualification zone. After that event, HellRaisers announced that they had been unsuccessful in their attempt to sign s1mple on a permanent basis, with FlipSid3 Tactics releasing the player shortly afterward.

s1mple was at the centre of one of the biggest transfer moves in early 2016 as he moved to North America to compete with Liquid, whom he would lead to a semi-final run at MLG Columbus with a 1.17 rating, 12% higher than the team's average, and a 1.47 impact. Things seemed to be looking up for the Ukrainian youngster, but he stepped down from the roster in April due to homesickness and issues with his role in the squad, with the player expressing his wish to continue his career in Europe.

He ended up returning to Liquid for two final events, the ECS Season 1 Finals and the ESL One Cologne Major, helping the squad to a grand final appearance at the latter event - the highest finish for a North American squad at a Major until Cloud9's triumph in Boston, almost two years later.

Shortly after the Major, s1mple put an end to speculation about his future as he signed for Natus Vincere, replacing captain and longtime member Danylo "⁠Zeus⁠" Teslenko on the roster. A first-place finish at ESL One New York, which earned s1mple his first MVP medal, and a semi-final run at EPICENTER were the only high points of the last four months of the year, but that did not prevent the Ukrainian from being named the fourth best player of 2016 thanks to his fragging prowess (0.82 kills per round) and damage output (112.9 ADR in his teams’ round wins).

2017 wound up being another frustrating year for s1mple as the team's struggles often prevented him from competing in the latter stages of the Big Events. Natus Vincere frequently crashed out of tournaments in the first round of the playoffs, only twice making the semi-finals of Big Events, at StarSeries Season 3 and ESL One Cologne.

A Swiss stage exit at PGL Major Krakow, despite s1mple putting in a 1.43 rating, proved to be the final straw as the team reunited with Zeus with hopes of rediscovering some magic after Denis "⁠seized⁠" Kostin had grown frustrated in the in-game leader role. Na`Vi’s streak of early exits continued even after the change, though, ending the year with just one title - at the medium-sized DreamHack Winter, after having replaced seized with Denis "⁠electroNic⁠" Sharipov.

s1mple ended the year on a high note, with an MVP medal on top of the DreamHack trophy after averaging a stunning 1.52 rating, but he still had to settle for the eighth spot in the top 20 ranking due to his low impact in the knockout stages of Big Events. Still, the player’s heroics in Jönköping provided a fitting appetiser for the dominant year that he would enjoy in 2018.

"My main goal always was and remains be to become the best team in the world, the rest is unimportant. I understand that any practice will yield fruits and will help me in situations where I need to win a round for my team."

The year began for Natus Vincere with the ELEAGUE Major, where s1mple put in a 1.52 rating in the New Challengers Stage to help the team progress to the last-16 stage, with the Ukrainian side only pulling through in the fifth round after recording losses to FaZe and MOUZ.

A 5-16 defeat to Gambit in their opening match in the New Legends Stage spelled trouble for Na`Vi, but the team bounced back and booked a playoff spot with a 3-1 record following convincing victories over BIG, Liquid and fnatic. s1mple was by then the team's best player, but his level dropped considerably in the playoffs as he struggled to make an impact against Quantum Bellator Fire and FaZe. In the end, his 1.08 playoff rating saw him miss out on a spot among the EVPs, with teammate Egor "⁠flamie⁠" Vasilyev making the cut on account of his dominant quarter-final showing.

"This was our first large event with electronic. We knew it would be hard to win it, and that there were a lot of teams that deserved to raise the trophy more than us. We tried to find our game, which proved to be difficult – I recall how in the New Challengers stage we were winning and losing with large round differences and could not understand what our issue was, but, regardless, the event gave us a big boost. It was at this event that we realised that Denis (electronic) needed a new role."

After the Major came the StarSeries Season 4 and DreamHack Masters Marseille, two bittersweet tournaments for s1mple, who was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of both competitions. The Ukrainian player looked disappointed as he exhibited his MVP medals, though, as Natus Vincere had to settle for second place after losing to MOUZ in Kiev and Astralis in Marseille.

s1mple ended StarSeries with the joint-highest rating (1.32) and an impressive 19 above-average rated maps in 22, 13 of those with ratings higher than 1.30. In the end, it was his impressive grand final performance (1.56 rating, +37 KDD) that earned him the MVP over one of the winning players - something uncommon at the time but that would happen again just a month later.

The Ukrainian prodigy raised his game to an even higher level in Marseille with a 1.52 rating, his career-best at a Big Event. He ended eight of the ten maps that he played with ratings higher than 1.30, leading 12 stats charts besides rating, including damage per round (99.4), kills per round (1.00), rounds with at least one kill (62.8%) and opening frags per round (0.18).

"Yes, it was really disappointing not to win, the individual accolades are nothing compared to a trophy. StarLadder was the more frustrating event as we made a comeback on the second map, then gave away the 30th round at a 15-14 scoreline. We felt that we were ready to win the tournament, but it seems it wasn’t our time then.

The next event on the calendar was the ESL Pro League Season 7 Finals, where Natus Vincere went out in the semi-finals after losing to Liquid. s1mple impressed in the group stage with four 1.25+ rated maps, but, just like at the Major, his low playoff rating (0.94) cost him an EVP mention.

StarSeries Season 5 marked the beginning of a streak of titles for Natus Vincere - and of MVP awards for s1mple. Back in Kiev, a now smiling s1mple proudly showed his medal after his team had defeated NRG 2-0 in the final, in which he had averaged a team-leading 1.47 rating. The 21-year-old finished the tournament with a 1.40 rating, 23% higher than Na`Vi's average, a 91.6 ADR and 12 maps in 19 with ratings higher than 1.30+.

"It was a difficult tournament, I remember playing against SK until 4 in the morning. We felt we were gaining form bit by bit and that everything was becoming clearer in our game. The most difficult matchup was against mouz on Mirage - I think that electronic and Edward saved the match when they clutched a 2v5 situation with Deagles and brought the team back in line.

After StarSeries came the CS:GO Asia Championships, the only non-Big Event that Na`Vi attended in 2018. With four below-average-rated maps in 10, s1mple did not hit the same heights that he had at his previous MVP tournaments (1.23 rating, 1.10 in the playoffs), but he still came out on top of a very close race with Adil "⁠ScreaM⁠" Benrlitom and Paweł "⁠byali⁠" Bieliński for the medal.

ESL One Cologne was the final event of Na`Vi's winning streak and the one that established the team as a serious threat to Astralis' aspiration to create an era in Counter-Strike. The Ukrainians endured a slow start to the tournament as they were sent to the group's lower bracket by G2 but still managed to make it through to the playoffs after beating Gambit, Cloud9 and ENCE, with s1mple averaging a 1.47 rating before the single-elimination bracket.

In the playoffs, s1mple was outshined by flamie in the victory over fnatic (1.45 rating) and by electroNic in the wins over Astralis (1.21) and BIG (1.26), but he still blew away the opposition in the MVP race by a significant margin after leading six key stats, including rating (1.37), KDD (+142), kills per round (0.90) and percentage of rounds with at least one kill (56.1%).

"I knew that we needed to continue working in order to reach Astralis’ level. I understood that our individual performances were better, but they always had better cohesiveness and more work hours. After three consecutive tournament victories, we felt confident in ourselves as a team.

Riding the wave after those three victories, Natus Vincere seemed to be at the top of the world, but ELEAGUE Premier brought them back to reality. s1mple led the charge in the team's series victories over fnatic and MOUZ, but he was inconsequential in the semi-final defeat to Liquid, in which he was barely above average (1.01 rating).

The summer break brought with it a poor version of Na`Vi as the team gave an appalling account of themselves at DreamHack Masters Stockholm. Once again, the Ukrainians were caught 'sleeping' in their first match, losing to Ghost in overtime. This time around, there would be no magical turn of form half way through the tournament as Na`Vi had to work extremely hard to make it out of the groups before being crushed by eventual champions North in the grand final, with s1mple's 1.34 rating not enough to warrant an EVP mention.

"We had certain personal issues that meant we couldn’t get good, solid preparation for Stockholm and the Major. This was a particularly frustrating moment in 2018, as the Major was the most important tournament for all teams involved. I was very worried about our results.

Like a phoenix rising from the ashes, Natus Vincere came back swinging at the FACEIT Major, reaching the playoffs with only one defeat to their name, in a 30-round opening game against Astralis. That was still the first of four 1.30+ rated maps by s1mple in the New Legends stage, with the 21-year-old ranking third for rating before the start of the playoffs (1.42).

s1mple remained incredibly prolific in the single-elimination bracket, leading his team against MIBR after being tied with Ioann "⁠Edward⁠" Sukhariev at the top of the scoreboard against BIG. However, he was Na`Vi's second-worst rated player in the grand final against Astralis, which brought his playoff rating down to 1.28 and ranked him second among the EVPs, behind teammate electroNic.

"I remember the worries of each player, and my own, which prevented us from playing our game [against Astralis]. We were dissatisfied with a second-place finish and we knew we could play better; however, I always look at it from a different perspective, I say: 'They deserved it more'. They put in more work and achieved their goal.

"This was my worst memory, because I feel that we could, and should have, prepared and played better.

Na`Vi continued to show their ability to blow hot and cold as they crashed out of ESL One New York following back-to-back defeats to Gambit, with a victory over a fnatic side attending the event with a stand-in offering little solace to Zeus' men. s1mple continued to thrive despite the team's woes, ending the tournament with a 1.28 rating, a +38KDD and an 85.2 ADR.

Back in the CIS for EPICENTER, Natus Vincere showed that they meant business as they topped Group A after beating
HellRaisers and FaZe, with s1mple boasting a tournament-high 1.55 group stage rating. The 21-year-old proceeded to destroy AVANGAR in the semi-finals with a whopping 1.52 rating (his closest teammate being flamie at 1.09) and held his own in the grand final against FaZe with the team's only-above average rating, 1.12, which was, however, not enough to prevent the European mixture from running out 2-0 winners.

s1mple ended up losing the MVP race to Nikola "⁠NiKo⁠" Kovač, admitting afterwards that he was "pretty sure" that he had deserved the medal in Moscow after finishing all but two of the nine maps that he played with 1.30+ ratings and leading eight stats charts, most notably rating (1.45), KDD (+93), ADR (91.4), AWP kills per round (0.50) and success in opening duels (66.7%).

"It was frustrating not to win EPICENTER. I thought that we had the highest chance of winning the tournament, seeing that FaZe had had a small decline, but we lost the tournament due to psychological reasons, again.

BLAST Pro Series Copenhagen looked to be Astralis' to lose, but the Danes did not even make the final after losing two matches in the round-robin stage, with Na`Vi and Ninjas in Pyjamas both progressing to the best-of-three title decider. s1mple was the team's second-best player in the 2-0 victory over the Swedes behind electroNic, but he still claimed the MVP medal - his sixth and final of the year - after leading ten stats categories, including rating (1.43), damage per round (94.4), kills per round (0.97) and opening duel success (62.9%).

"The best moment of the year was our victory at BLAST in Denmark. When we arrived I told my team: 'We may have lost EPICENTER, but take a look at this trophy, the fans, this tournament. It’s a lot more pleasant to hoist the trophy here', and so we did. I was genuinely happier than after Cologne.

After the triumph in Copenhagen came one of the lowest points of the year for Na`Vi, who bowed out of IEM Chicago after just two matches following surprise losses to eUnited and BIG, and were dismantled by MOUZ and Liquid in their top-six run at the ESL Pro League Season 8 Finals. Na`Vi's struggles did not keep s1mple from posting a 1.27 rating in Chicago - a sensational 41% higher than the team's average - and from making the EVP list in Odense after posting the third-highest rating overall, 1.30.

"We had conversations about it and came to the conclusion that our schedule was off. A bootcamp followed by three consecutive tournaments is just too much for any team. People didn’t have enough time to relax and spend time with their family. We were all exhausted.

Na`Vi brought the curtain down on 2018 with another grand final appearance, at BLAST Pro Series Lisbon. s1mple led the team to the title decider with 1.20+ ratings in the three victories in the round robin stage, and followed that up with a solid performance on Overpass against Astralis with a 1.61 rating. However, as the Danes took control of proceedings on the next two maps, Cache and Dust2, s1mple's rating began to decrease, with the Ukrainian forced to settle for the second spot on the EVP list, behind Peter "⁠dupreeh⁠" Rasmussen, making it the ninth time that he was among the best players at a Big Event in 2018.

Why was s1mple the best player of 2018?

s1mple's numbers speak for themselves and leave no room for debate as to who deserved to sit at the top of the ranking. He was by far the highest-rated player of 2018 at Big Events (1.34), standing out in practically every way and on both sides, averaging the best T-side rating (1.34) and the second-best CT-side rating (1.33).

The Ukrainian prodigy was ranked first for frags (0.87 kills per round), damage (87.4) and KDD (+1107), and had the third-lowest deaths per round ratio (0.59). He was simultaneously the best at opening up rounds, boasting the highest opening kills per round ratio at 0.14 and the highest opening duel success at 64.9%, and the second-best at closing them when left alone, racking up 75 clutches, only two fewer than Andreas "⁠Xyp9x⁠" Højsleth.

s1mple had no match in terms of consistency, however you look at it: round-to-round (76.0% KAST), map-to-map (86.5% of maps with above-average ratings) and event-to-event (1.19+ ratings at every tournament).

It is important to note that s1mple maintained a very high level in the latter stages of tournaments with a 1.30 playoff rating and a 1.27 Big Event final rating, both of which the highest of any player in the world.

For his efforts, he collected six MVP medals and was named the EVP on four occasions. That is not the most in 2018, but he made up for the "lack" of individual awards with the sheer dominance he exerted during his peak performances, namely at DreamHack Masters Marseille, StarSeries Seasons 4 and 5, and ESL One Cologne, as well as with his overall high base level of form. This can be seen from the fact that his worst events would be among the best for most of the contenders who made the top 20 in 2018.

All in all, it was a historic year that likely ranks as the best ever by any player in Counter-Strike history in a calendar year, and that could not have been recognised in any other way than with the No.1 spot in this ranking.

"My main goal is to be a part of history. If every player reminds themselves of their goal and pursue it, then nothing or no one can stop them.

"I am sure that I have not hit my peak and that I can play better. I know what I need to work on and I am doing so."

Bold prediction

s1mple was far from bold in his prediction as he tipped Ismailcan "⁠XANTARES⁠" Dörtkardeş to make the top 20 for the first time in his career following his recent high-profile move to BIG.

Ismailcan "⁠XANTARES⁠" Dörtkardeş:

"The easiest answer, which I am not sure why no one else picked - XANTARES. He’s not a new player, but he has impressed not only you, but also me, which is rare."

This was our Top 20 players of 2018 ranking, powered by EGB.com. Take a look at the Introduction article to learn more about how the players were picked.