Can Natus Vincere succeed without s1mple?

It’s no longer a rumor or a mere intention. S1mple, the best CS:GO player to ever touch the game, has decided to step down from Natus Vincere for the foreseeable future and will be immediately replaced by the org, most likely with a much weaker player.

Since CS2 was released, s1mple complained non-stop about the game and asked Valve to fix it. But when Valve asked him what the problems were in his view, he just ignored them and offered a toxic response.

At IEM Sydney, s1mple didn’t play and was replaced by the team’s coach, B1ad3. At the time, we all thought it was a joke or an isolated incident. But it turns out that s1mple really does hate CS2 so much that he simply won’t play it.

I can clearly tell that if you want to become CS2 pro you still have 3 months, don’t play this shit game rn, wait for updates

— Sasha (@s1mpleO) October 5, 2023

For the next six months, the Ukrainian will likely be busy with other things, including a personal project that he briefly mentioned in one of his tweets. But what will Na’Vi do without him?

Na’Vi’s roster is very strong at the moment, even without s1mple. It’s strange, however, that he decided to stop playing at such an important moment, right at the start of the new game. If he takes a long break, by the time he returns everyone will be ahead of him in a lot of ways.

Na’Vi’s current strength

Thanks to the cohesion of the roster and the individual talent of its members, Na’Vi will likely remain a top 10 team in the coming months. Aleksib has demonstrated that he’s a capable IGL, while jL and iM proved to be solid signings. B1t is as good as he’s ever been, and he knows what he needs to do to improve the team’s chances of winning.

It remains to be seen who will replace s1mple. According to reports, that player will be w0nderful from Sprout, who’s only 18 and seems very motivated to win. His stats look amazing as well. Another big plus is the fact that he’s Ukrainian and speaks English. So it makes sense that Na’Vi wants him.

We don’t know for how long s1mple will be missing. But the fact that he’s getting replaced indicates that it will be at least six months. He also spoke of wanting to leave the club or at least of being interested in receiving offers from other teams. For the likes of Falcons and others who can afford it, this is the perfect time.

Header: ESL