s1mple on sdy: "I hope he will play in Cologne"

After winning BLAST with a stand-in and new IGL, Oleksandr "⁠s1mple⁠" Kostyliev gave some thoughts on a variety of topics.

Natus Vincere had already displayed a rapid improvement at BLAST Premier Spring Finals, recovering from an opening loss to march through the tournament taking down BIG, FaZe, and OG in Denis "⁠electroNic⁠" Sharipov's first event at the helm.

The grand final was a one-sided affair as Natus Vincere outclassed Vitality, with Valeriy "⁠b1t⁠" Vakhovskiy, electroNic and of course s1mple all displaying vintage form.

With the trophy in his hands, s1mple took a few moments both on broadcast and with HLTV to answer some key questions about the event, the performances of electroNic and Viktor "⁠sdy⁠" Orudzhev, and his and the team's future.

s1mple first addressed the fact that the team were able to bring a fantastic level to the event despite the circumstances surrounding the team as they came into the tournament.

"We are still a team and organisation who is hunting for any trophy and ready to win it. Especially with low preparation and a new player, we did a really good job. We played really good CS, especially against FaZe, and today we played good as well," he said on the desk after the grand final.

He added in an interview with HLTV: "I think nothing changed, maybe some positions on maps, but in terms of strategies and game plan, it’s always the same. The other four players know 50 rounds on six different maps, and at the end it still depends on individual performances."

He went on to state his surprise during the desk segment at the way the series went against FaZe, and also addressed the dominance displayed in the grand final.

"I was surprised with the FaZe game, it felt like they didn’t play their game, maybe if it was on stage, they would play much much better. [Against Vitality] the whole team was so focused that you just think only about your role, how to win easy rounds just playing and hitting your shots."

The CIS superstar also responded to a question from HLTV about whether winning events in this fashion gives him added motivation to continue playing.

"Yeah of course, it’s always nice to win tournaments, especially when you understand it was only one week of preparation. You can imagine we can achieve more with these players."

Finally, s1mple addressed the performances of both electroNic and sdy.

To the desk, he stated: "[electroNic]'s very smart, he can outcall any IGL and he’s really good in mid-rounds when you just need to go, don’t use any nades, and they won’t even expect you."

He later mentioned to HLTV: "I hope [sdy] will play in Cologne, I think he played really great. He had a lot of key rounds against OG and against Vitality today, a lot of multi-kills. He is a really calm guy and he is ready to learn, he knows how to listen to other people."