S1mple wins first major as Na’Vi dominates PGL Stockholm Finals
Ukrainian esports organization Natus Vincere dominated the 2021 PGL Major Stockholm, the first Counter-Strike: Global Offensive major in two years, as Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev led the team to win without dropping a single map throughout the event.
On November 7, the 24-year-old carried the team to a 2-0 victory over G2 Esports in the grand finals of the with a K/D of 32-17 on the first map alone. On the second man, the legendary AWPer recorded a KD of 40-24.
Na’Vi had it smooth for the first map, Ancient, and secured a 16-11 victory over the opponent. G2, however, struggled a bit harder on the second map, Nuke. At first, G2 managed to gain the lead over Na’Vi. They secured 15 rounds when Na’Vi had only 10. S1mple then retaliated and led the team to an 18-18 tie.
Overtime followed and the match ended with 22-19 on the scoreboard in favor of the Na’Vi squad. After killing G2’s last standing man Nikola “NiKo” Kovač, the team jumped out of their seats and celebrated their victory.
S1mple proves critics wrong
S1mple has been with the Na’Vi squad for five years, but the 2021 PGL Major Stockholm is his first CS:GO major trophy. He took the chance to hit out at his critics after the victory.
“A lot of people didn’t believe in me and made jokes, but I f*cking did it,” s1mple said after the match. “The major is ours, the major is NaVi’s. I told, we just needed to believe in ourselves, and we were going to win… We just kept fighting. I am so proud of my team, the f*cking champions! Just look at them, the champions!”
Through its official Twitter account, CS:GO acknowledged s1imple as the best player, saying: “The king of Counter-Strike finally earns his crown.”
“Behind 40 kills from @s1mpleO, @natusvincere have defeated @G2esports on Nuke in double overtime 22:19 and take the series 2-0,” it continued.
“They are your @pglesports Major Champions!”
Fans want s1mple move to Valorant
Many prominent pro players have moved to Valorant from CS:GO. This includes the most notable ones such as Oscar “mixwell” Cañellas Colocho, Adil “ScreaM” Benrlitom, and Tyson “TenZ” Ngo. Fans, who are usually against the CS:GO player moving to another game, noticed s1mple’s apparent interest in Valorant and they did not take it lightly.
Prior to the victory, S1imple became increasingly active in Valorant. He was asked whether he would switch from CS:GO to Riot’s shooter, to which he answered: “If I was Astralis that has won four majors, I would probably think about it. But now I have zero major.”
“I will keep grinding,” he continued.
In a streaming session, the Ukrainian insisted that his primary goal was to win a CS:GO major, and now the man has won one, many believe it is finally his time to move on.
“First CSGO event I watch and s1mple finally doesn’t lose in finals, I’m the difference-maker, and I made this sacrifice for the greater good: to get s1mple onto the better game, Valorant,” a fan tweeted.
“Congratulations on winning the major s1mple, you have now unlocked Valorant,” said another.
Valorant has grown rapidly since its release and quickly became the main rival of CS:GO. Fans are now currently waiting for the Valorant Champions 2021 which will be held in December in Berlin with a total of 16 teams competing.
