Is ZywOo better than s1mple?

In the world of Counter-Strike, Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut and Aleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev are like Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.

In the last six years, one of them won each time at the individual level and was named the best player in Counter-Strike for that season. The other finished 2^nd, with the exception of 2023. But that’s only because s1mple decided to take a break. At 26, he’s probably a bit tired of competing after so many years of tournaments.

Key statistics

So far, both players have won a CS Major. S1mple won in 2021, at PGL Major Stockholm, while ZywOo won in 2023, at BLAST.tv Paris Major.

If we look at the most significant trophies won by the two players, both of them have clearly added quite a few to their collection.

S1mple won:

• StarSeries & i-League CS:GO Season 7
• IEM World Championship (2020)
• BLAST Premier Global Final 2020
• IEM Cologne 2021
• Intel Grand Slam Season 3
• ESL Pro League S14
• PGL Major Stockholm 2021
• BLAST Premier Fall Finals 2021
• BLAST Premier World Final 2021
• BLAST Premier Spring Finals 2022

Zywoo won:

• Esports Championship Series Season 7 Finals (2019)
• EPICENTER 2019
• BLAST Premier Fall 2020
• IEM XVI Winter
• ESL Pro League S16
• IEM Rio 2023
• tv Paris Major 2023
• Gamers8 2023
• BLAST Premier Fall Final 2023
• BLAST Premier World Final 2023

No doubt, when we add all the other trophies, s1mple has been more successful and some of his team’s biggest trophies have been more prestigious than the ones won by Team Vitality. But since the start of 2023, ZywOo has clearly been doing a lot better, both individually and with his team.

0 CS2 official games, #7 ez
Tbh I would trade places with frozen, he deserves it more
If you are not #1 nothing else matters https://t.co/oW2xO1efYQ

— Sasha (@s1mpleO) January 9, 2024

One of the major difficulties that s1mple is facing these days, apart from having to constantly worry about his family in Ukraine, is related to CS2’s characteristics. His favorite weapon, the AWP, is no longer as good as it used to be. And without it, much of s1mple’s advantage is gone.

He now has to play with the AK-47 or an M4A4 / M4A1-S most of the time. He’s really good with these rifles, but it’s not his preferred way of playing the game. What he loves to do is to create a number advantage by getting a quick kill with the AWP. After that, everything gets easier.

If he needs to expose himself in each round and be just a foot solider, so to speak, then Natus Vincere doesn’t have the edge it used to have against its opponents.

S1mple has been missing for several months and he will likely continue to miss until June. With him gone for so long, ZywOo is without a doubt the strongest player in CS2 right now. And if Vitality have another great year, he will also become the most accomplished by the end of 2024.

Header: ESL