Top 20 players of 2023: s1mple (7)

Consistent output and great awards take s1mple to his eighth appearance on our Top 20 Players of the Year list, powered by 1xBet.

Top 20 players of 2023: Introduction

Three-time player of the year Oleksandr "⁠s1mple⁠" Kostyliev is held to a different standard. 2023 represents his eighth consecutive appearance on the HLTV Top 20 Players of the Year list, powered by 1xBet, which puts him one behind long-time rival Nicolai "⁠device⁠" Reedtz for the all-time record but with a higher median placing (2, vs device's 3).

2023 was a year without any MVPs, s1mple's first since 2015. No trophies were added to his illustrious cabinet. s1mple's still supreme level in 2023 came as the best player of a Natus Vincere in transition, a far cry from the 2021 side or even the 2022 one.

In the last five years, s1mple has been second twice, and first three times — including back-to-back in 2021 and 2022. The Natus Vincere of 2021 was an all-conquering beast with s1mple at the helm, winning all four LAN events they attended and ending the year with eight MVPs and a 1.35 rating at notable events.

2022 was more difficult, after the invasion of Ukraine in February and departure of in-game leader Kirill "⁠Boombl4⁠" Mikhailov in May, but Natus Vincere remained a contender and built a classic rivalry against FaZe. The two juggernauts met in the grand finals of PGL Antwerp and IEM Cologne, while earlier meetings in ESL Pro League Season 17 and BLAST Spring Final decided who would go on to win the title.

The second half of the year was tougher on the side, as Denis "⁠electroNic⁠" Sharipov became in-game leader and Andrii "⁠npl⁠" Kukharskyi was brought in as a sixth man to swap with Viktor "⁠sdy⁠" Orudzhev. s1mple's year bottomed out with a 5-8th place finish at the Rio Major after a shocking loss to FURIA, and 2022 ended with Natus Vincere entering a transition period but with s1mple crowned the No. 1 player in the world for a third time.

You can read a more in-depth look at s1mple's career in his previous appearances on the top 20 list:

Top 20 players of 2016: s1mple (4)
Top 20 players of 2017: s1mple (8)
Top 20 players of 2018: s1mple (1)
Top 20 players of 2019: s1mple (2)
Top 20 players of 2020: s1mple (2)
Top 20 players of 2021: s1mple (1)
Top 20 players of 2022: s1mple (1)

Natus Vincere entered 2023 in transition. Boombl4's departure and the war in Ukraine disrupted what had been Counter-Strike's premier team and reduced it to a side that always made playoffs but rarely looked like it was going any deeper.

s1mple's bold prediction for 2023, npl, after some months as a sixth player, had permanently replaced sdy as Natus Vincere persevered with electroNic as their permanent IGL.

Despite their challenges, the team had stood strong — and they still had s1mple. The year began at BLAST Spring Groups as Natus Vincere earned a spot at BLAST Spring Final with their franchise superstar in stellar form.

IEM Katowice followed, and s1mple was among the Exceptionally Valuable Players (EVPs) as he helped Natus Vincere past Cloud9, Liquid, and Outsiders for a top-four finish.

But something was still lacking from the Natus Vincere machine. s1mple, even in EVP form, was rarely at the superlative level we would expect from 2022's player of the year and ended the event with a 1.12 rating. After a disappointing loss to HEROIC in the semi-final, s1mple bemoaned his teammates' lack of experience and did not emerge even as ESL named him the player of 2022.

NAVI were messing with their formula, giving npl the A connector on Mirage and putting electroNic as an A anchor in an effort to shake up the roster. Later, Ilya "⁠Perfecto⁠" Zalutskiy and Valeriy "⁠b1t⁠" Vakhovskiy swapped around on the B site too in a merry-go-round of changes. s1mple, used to challenging for trophies, was clearly frustrated at the time: "You should ask our coach [about the spot swaps], because I ask myself some of the same questions. I don't understand why... nevermind."

Looking back now, s1mple is reflective. "I would call it a year of rebuilding and something new. We were making everything from scratch and it was very difficult in the beginning. I think in some moments the new players lacked experience and the whole team needed more time."

Nevertheless, amidst the on-surface disappointment, Natus Vincere were still contenders. If we count 5-6th quarter-final exits at BLAST Finals, they and s1mple had not bombed out of a single LAN tournament in a group stage since before the pandemic.

NAVI continued the streak and garnered another playoff berth at ESL Pro League Season 17, and s1mple was back to his best in his highest-rated LAN event of the year. Groups were navigated well, before revenge was had over HEROIC to secure a semi-final spot with s1mple among the candidates for the MVP.

FaZe awaited in the last four, as Natus Vincere looked to re-light the greatest rivalry of 2022 — where the two met in the final of both IEM Cologne and PGL Major Antwerp — and deny the international squad a run at the Intel Grand Slam.

s1mple turned up to play, carrying NAVI to a 1-0 lead on Ancient. Nuke flipped the script, and on the decider all of Natus Vincere, even s1mple, faltered. Like they had at EPL Season 15, Antwerp, and Cologne in 2022, FaZe proved too strong and raced on to the title. Young recruit npl ended the series with a 0.74 rating as NAVI continued to struggle at the final hurdle in their post-Boombl4 era.

Against lower opposition, there were no such problems. Natus Vincere sailed through the Paris RMR in first place with a 3-0 record and npl in great form, treating it like any other group stage and even claiming a win over FaZe.

A long flight to Brazil for IEM Rio was next on the calendar, and Natus Vincere proved they were still a threat. s1mple was once again their shining light in wins against The MongolZ, Ninjas in Pyjamas, and BIG as NAVI made their 20th LAN playoff (16 post-COVID) in a row.

HEROIC were the opponents in another semi-final, and the result, like versus FURIA at the 2022 Major, went against s1mple once again in the Jeunesse Arena. His usual form deserted him against the Danes in a 22-25 Overpass loss where he ended on a 0.97 rating. A recovery on map two recovered his series statline but not the tournament, and NAVI had to settle for a third bronze medal in three LAN events, and s1mple for an EVP.

"It's not pleasant," s1mple replied, on the challenge of adapting to a side that was not regularly filling the cabinet with silverware. "Wins and cups supply me with a completely different energy, just like the arena with spectators. That's the only reason I play, these emotions make me happier."

It is easy to be negative when looking back at this spell compared to prior years, tempting to be as hard on s1mple as he was on himself. But this spell needs to be looked at in context. s1mple's 1.21 rating for the year up to IEM Rio was the fourth-highest of the year so far. He had earned an EVP at three out of three events. This was still the game's greatest-ever player at a level above the vast majority of the scene.

But disaster was lurking. Natus Vincere traveled to Paris for the BLAST.tv Major among the favorites and as the No. 3 team in the world. There was still hope that, with s1mple's form and a core of him, b1t, Perfecto and electroNic, they could catch fire at the biggest tournament of all. Denying his fellow alien Mathieu "⁠ZywOo⁠" Herbaut on home soil would have been extra sweet.

On day one, Natus Vincere went 1-0 up only to face the full force of a rampant Mareks "⁠YEKINDAR⁠" Gaļinskis, who ended the second best-of-one of the day with a 2.00 rating as he dominated Inferno's Banana in a 16-8 win for Liquid.

The Ukrainian-majority squad recovered to a 2-1 record with a win over Ninjas in Pyjamas on day two, and set up a regional derby against Monte that would hand the winner a ticket to the Accor Arena.

Natus Vincere were the team that always made playoffs, the team that never lost to underdogs. But, against former player sdy and Volodymyr "⁠Woro2k⁠" Veletniuk, an old sparring partner of s1mple's, NAVI cracked.

s1mple ended the shock 0-2 defeat with 56.6 ADR and a 0.62 rating. A 0.46 on Nuke was his worst map since December 2019, and the 0.76 on Anubis was in his bottom six since 2021 on LAN.

Still, Natus Vincere were not out yet. They headed into the 2-2 decider wounded but not defeated. FaZe would be the opponents, because, of course, they had to be. The two great rivals were set for one of the highest intensity group stage matches of all time.

It came to a decider on a new map, Anubis — and NAVI seemed to have risen to the challenge of maintaining their playoff streak. They rushed into a 14-8 lead despite losing both pistols, a commanding lead on any map but especially so on the T side of Anubis. Victory awaited.

But, you can never count FaZe out. Slowly but surely, Finn "⁠karrigan⁠" Andersen's men clawed their way back in, and s1mple was helpless to stop them. 14-8 became 15-9, and 15-12, and then 15-15. NAVI survived the first overtime but momentum had shifted, and they faltered in the second.

Their playoff streak, stretching back to 2019, had been broken in the most heartbreaking way imaginable. It spelt curtains for the lineup, whose consistency was simply not enough for a team that was used to trophies. "It was not pleasant, especially after leading with a big advantage on the last map against FaZe," s1mple says. "The atmosphere already wasn’t very good and everyone in the team realized what was going to happen next."

The squad pulled out of BLAST Spring Final after visa issues to end the season, and rostermania ensued. npl, Perfecto, and electroNic departed, and Natus Vincere were looking West for their replacements.

In came Major breakouts Mihai "⁠iM⁠" Ivan and Justinas "⁠jL⁠" Lekavicius, with Aleksi "⁠Aleksib⁠" Virolainen as the in-game leader of a first-ever Anglophone Natus Vincere.

"I was reminded of the experience I had when I went to America [to play for Liquid]," said s1mple about the switch. "Sometimes these changes are necessary to get new challenges in your career and work on them."

Parting ways with long-term sidekick electroNic and Perfecto, however, the core that had granted NAVI so much consistency and their first Major title, was always going to sting for s1mple: "We didn't part ways with the guys on a very good note, but I still respect them and call them the best teammates of my career. I wish them to get to the top soon, hopefully one day we will play against each other in the finals."

But it was onwards and upwards, as the international NAVI qualified for BLAST Fall Final on debut and started their preparation for IEM Cologne.

In Germany, tight losses to fellow fledgling lineups MOUZ and Astralis meant a group stage exit on debut for the new lineup — but the second in a row for b1t and s1mple, who had to settle for a VP.

At Gamers8, s1mple was in fine form for a win over FURIA but NAVI could not handle Vitality and went home in 5-8th place. The new lineup had shown promise, but it was clearly a long-term project; trophies still seemed a long way away.

ESL Pro League Season 18 was a chance to flip that narrative. With s1mple back in form, Natus Vincere earned first place in their group over FaZe and defeated Eternal Fire and Monte in playoffs to reach their first grand final since IEM Cologne 2022.

It was by no means the most difficult run, but the trophy was in their sights. All Natus Vincere had to do was overcome a young MOUZ side, by no means a small feat after Kamil "⁠siuhy⁠" Szkaradek's side had eliminated FaZe, ENCE, and G2 en route to the final.

And so it proved. MOUZ, the more tested side in playoffs, were a tough nut to crack. NAVI, under their first stress test of the event, fumbled, slumping to a 0-3 defeat.

"To be honest, we worked hard for a long time to gain good form and win the tournament, but in the final we all failed," explains s1mple. "Some, like me, failed in emotions, some lacked experience of playing in finals, some didn’t have strong enough nerves. It's never nice to lose 0-3. And you have to give credit to MOUZ, they got good individual and team form."

Despite defeat, it was a promising sign for the international project. s1mple earned another EVP, his fourth for the year, and though near Major MVP iM was yet to click in the new system compatriot b1t had found a new level to compensate.

Unfortunately, they would not get another chance to prove their worth. Ahead of IEM Sydney, the first CS2 LAN, s1mple's EU residency papers were not ready for him to leave the continent. A few weeks later, shortly after criticizing the new version of Counter-Strike, he announced that he would be taking a break from competition. The ESL Pro League final was s1mple's last match of 2023.

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Could s1mple "trace" himself?

When asked about his break and a possible return, s1mple said: "I'm working on my health and the documents, I'm spending more time with myself and so far I'm enjoying it. Of course when you watch the games you think about coming back, but everything has its time, we'll see what happens next."

"Like I said before, if you want to be a pro player in CS2, you have to wait 3 months, they’ve almost passed," he jokes. "Valve has made the game so much better since the release, but there's still a lot of work to be done. Anti-cheat, boost bugs, tickrate, and more. It's not normal to experience the game one way playing at home with a ping of 20-30 and completely different playing at a LAN tournament with a ping of 5."

s1mple had been talking about a break since June 2022, after the war forced him out of Kyiv. But the news still came as a shock, as the scene came to terms with the idea of tournaments being played out without the game's most recognisable icon.

Thus, CS2 has begun without CS:GO's GOAT. Looking back on 2023, s1mple called 2023 a "confusing year, like nothing good or bad, as if I'm going with a flow which was almost impossible to control. Of course, I'm not happy with it, so it's hard to find the positives."

But, he can still look back on CS:GO with fondness: "I try to put the past out of my head, but I remember what I went through, how difficult it was for me to get at least 5 trophies in my life. It was the path through victories and defeats, a path through different situations in this world, coronavirus, war, the eternal search for myself and the team, a lot of questions - what if? But I'm glad that the first major chapter of my life was successful, 10 years later I know what to do and what not to do."

And if he won't find the positives in his 2023, allow us to. s1mple, in a down year compared to the last five, still ended the year with four EVPs and a 1.18 rating. Only the greatest of players are held to such high standards that this is a noticeable decline. And s1mple, well, he's the greatest of them all. He has earned his break — and his return will be one of the most anticipated moments of 2024.

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Why was s1mple the 7th best player of 2023?

s1mple may have taken a break, but still ended the year with four EVPs and three VPs (all at big events) and was Natus Vincere's highest-rated player at six out of those seven events.

His output stood up to the test too, with 0.75 kills per round (6th), a 19.2% multi-kill rate (4th) and the third highest rating vs top 20 opposition (1.18). An impressive 1.02 kills per round win (6th) also tells the tale of his impact on NAVI's wins.

The Ukrainian maintained a high floor (89.3% of maps above 0.85 rating, 5th) in addition to a high ceiling (35.9% of maps above 1.30 rating, 6th), and though he missed part of the year his sample against top opposition was still solid (76 maps vs top 20, 32 vs top 5).

His high award count is what got him this high, but it is also what kept him at No. 7 with no MVPs and lower peaks than those that will follow him. Missing CS2 also became more significant as we started comparing him against those above who had similar numbers but full sample sizes for the year.

Bold prediction by 1xBet

s1mple looked to his home country for 2024's bold prediction, choosing NAVI Youth prodigy Adam "⁠froz1k⁠" Nahornyi.

"People who are in search for talent give me the name of this player: froz1k," s1mple said. "There are rumours that he could be better than many of the talents that were nurtured by NAVI, I don't think he will make the top 20 this year but I have to show my faith in him."

The fifteen-year-old was chosen last year by Russel "⁠Twistzz⁠" Van Dulken in an even bolder shout, but s1mple is the first this term. froz1k was signed in 2021 and had hit 3000 ELO at the age of just 13, a road that included hitting this ace on a stream with Niels Christian "⁠NaToSaphiX⁠" Sillassen.

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Stay tuned to our Top 20 Players of 2023 ranking and take a look at the Introduction article to learn more about how the players were selected.