Russian content creator Vyacheslav "Buster" Leontyev assessed the prospects of Alexander "s1mple" Kostylev in the professional CS2 scene. The streamer's quote was provided by Escorenews.com.
"The fact that s1mple hasn't played for six months has already affected him. I don't think he'll play like before. His prime form won't return."
S1mple went inactive in October 2023. Since then, he has played only one official match as a stand-in for Team Falcons at the BLAST Premier: Spring Showdown 2024. His team lost 1:2 to Metizport and exited the championship. Kostylev remains listed on NAVI as he has an ongoing contract with the club. Previously, the Ukrainian sniper mentioned having received several invitations to join other teams.
"No, finding a new team is not particularly difficult. I had three or four invitations, but some teams weren't good enough, and others didn't have the money for the buyout. I want the team to have a system. If it doesn't, then I want to build it myself with the right people. [What system?] A professional one, like it was in NAVI. The teams that invited me may have had some system, but it was probably not good.
I just need strong players who are willing to build this system either around me or someone else. I want to see real professionals who will put in the effort, conduct boot camps for several months, work, and get better."
S1mple went inactive in October 2023. Since then, he has played only one official match as a stand-in for Team Falcons at the BLAST Premier: Spring Showdown 2024. There, his team lost 1:2 to Metizport and exited the championship.