CSGO star s1mple pens new NAVI contract
Helena Kristiansson/ESL Gaming via ESPATNAVI CS:GO star Oleksandr ‘s1mple’ Kostyliev has signed a new contract that will keep him with the organization until the end of 2025.
The announcement puts an end to speculation about s1mple’s future as the Ukrainian prodigy had just two months left on the contract that he signed with NAVI at the end of 2020.
s1mple joined NAVI in August 2015 after a short stint in North America with Team Liquid. He has since established himself as a global phenomenon, both inside and outside of the game.
He is the current holder of the most MVP medals in the scene at 21, two more than his closest suitor, Nicolai ‘dev1ce’ Reedtz, who is currently inactive due to mental health issues. He has sparked NAVI to multiple titles over the years, though he had to wait until 2021 to finally win a Major trophy.
During the summer, s1mple revealed that he was considering taking a break from the game due to not having a permanent place of residence since the start of the war in his homeland. “I need to set up my life, I want to play and stream and not worry about other things, not travel with the same bag for six months,” he said at the time.
s1mple missed the start of the BLAST Premier Fall Groups due to personal reasons, joining up with the rest of the squad in time for the Play-In stage match against Vitality, which NAVI won 2-0 to secure a spot in the Fall Finals.
After placing 5th-8th in ESL Pro League Season 16, NAVI easily booked a spot at the IEM Rio Major by going 3-0 in the European RMR B tournament. They are one of the eight teams already through to the Legends Stage, which will begin only on November 5.
“We believe the upcoming Intel Extreme Masters Rio Major 2022 tournament will end up another victory for our team, and Brazil will be the place for s1mple to once again become one of the architects of NAVI’s success!” NAVI wrote in a statement.
