S1mple Is Not Interested In Joining Cloud9; The Reason Might Shock You

The greatest Counter-Strike player of all time, Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyljev, revealed he is not looking to reunite with his former teammates in Cloud9. Rather than personal or gameplay-related reasons, s1mple showed no interest in joining the “superteam” due to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.

Cloud9 – S1mple Relationship

Former Natus Vincere players Denis “electroNic” Sharipov, Ilya “Perfecto” Zalutskiy, and Kirill “Boombl4” Mikhaylov departed from the Ukrainian organization in hopes of forming the best Eastern European roster at Cloud9. Left behind were the two Ukrainian players in the Major-winning iteration of Na’Vi, Valerij “b1t” Vakhovsjkyj and the GOAT himself.

The current Cloud9 roster has some of the best names the region has to offer, with one of the best riflers in the world, Sergey “Ax1Le” Rykhtorov, and experienced veteran Abay “HObbit” Khassenov. Though the roster seemed scary on paper, there was one big problem: they do not have an AWPer.

Transitioning from Global Offensive to Counter-Strike 2 did not bring too many gameplay changes, but one of the main differences is the nerf to the AWP. Every professional player agreed that the sniper role was less impactful in the new game. Due to this update and several personal reasons, s1mple took a break from professional Counter-Strike.

Though the Ukrainian AWPer was enjoying his time on the sidelines, he revealed in an interview with Players.UA that he was itching to return to the scene. Currently, the new Natus Vincere roster features Ihor “w0nderful” Zhdanov, a young prodigy who is taking AWPing responsibilities left by s1mple. 

The Perfect Fit In Cloud9?

Most fans expected that if Kostyljev was looking to make a return, the most likely option is he would rejoin his ex-teammates in the Cloud9 roster. They’ve played together for years, winning multiple trophies together. The team chemistry is there, and s1mple is the ideal candidate to fix the roster’s main issue of now having an AWPer. 

Additionally, the Major-winning Na’Vi roster fell apart because Boombl4 was removed from the organization due to his wife’s controversial actions, not because of any gameplay-related reasons. Performance was never the reason why Na’Vi split up.

However, in the same Players.UA interview, s1mple mentioned he would never join Cloud9 as long as there were four Russian players. He thinks every Ukrainian should understand his thought process. Three of the four Russians in the North American organization happen to be his old teammates. 

S1mple Not Looking To Join Cloud9

When the Russia-Ukraine war first broke out, the Na’Vi roster in question was still together at IEM Katowice 2022. In a pre-game interview in front of the crowd, s1mple mentioned the following words:

“Esports is out of politics. All our players, players from different teams, and all of you have nothing to do with government decisions.”

“Throughout my career, I’ve played with Ukrainian, Russian, and American players. And all of them are great guys. Right now, I stand with my friends. These are my real friends.”

S1mple was extremely emotional during his speech and had to hold back tears. However, interestingly enough, the “friends” he referred to in his speech are the same three teammates playing in the current Cloud9 roster. 

It is highly likely that s1mple has no problems with electroNic, Perfecto, and Boombl4 and, instead, wants to avoid playing under an organization representing the Russian flag. 

I 100% understand that an Ukrainian doesn’t want to play with Russians, because he doesn’t want to be associated with that country/flag.

I’m surprised so many don’t understand that.

— neL (@neLendirekt) February 13, 2024

Either way, there is a high chance that s1mple will return to professional Counter-Strike in the future. Will he reclaim his spot at Na’Vi or wear a different jersey for the first time in almost eight years?