The cozy lull in CS:GO after the end of the Cologne tournament and the departure of pro-players on vacation was shaken up on August 13 by the big news: s1mple will miss BLAST Premier: Fall Groups 2022. Immediately from everywhere there were various experts, went to spread rumors, say, this is the end of the career, Simpl won everything that can be, he has no problems with money, and he is no longer interested in Counter Strike. In addition, some observers recalled that s1mple played a lot of Valorant and perhaps he decided to challenge himself by moving to a completely new cybersport discipline.
However, the reason for s1mple's departure is quite prosaic and boring unlike the versions put forward by the community. He was talking about it as early as June 15, 2022, when he said he needed a brief break from endless competition to deal with life's challenges that had come upon him:
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Moving to another country;
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Settling in the new place;
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Organizing the necessary documents.
Chronology of events (part 1)
S1mple will miss BLAST Premier: Fall Groups 2022, although for personal reasons, but largely forced.
The original source of Sasha's decision should be sought in the events of late February 2022, namely, in the hostilities initiated by Russia on the territory of Ukraine. Simpl, as a citizen of Ukraine and the sports pride of his country, had to look for a safe place to live and train.
There is such a proverb that 1 move equals 2 fires. It means that by the level of stress a change of residence, relocation to another country exceeds the damage to the human psyche caused by natural disasters. Now imagine yourself in Simpl's shoes, dealing with the problems of moving and at the same time having to demonstrate the highest level in CS:GO in front of his fans. No wonder he needed an extra break on top of his vacation.
Chronology of Events (Part 2)
Let's unravel further the tangle of events that led to s1mple missing the BLAST Premier: Fall Groups 2022.
On February 24, 2022, Navi, led by Simple, were playing in the playoffs of the prestigious IEM Katowice 2022 Kaeser event when hostilities began. Natus Vincere crashed out in the semifinals on Feb. 26, losing to the guys from G2. Most likely, because of stress and worries for his loved ones who remained in Ukraine under rocket attacks.
In March 2022, Sasha was in Poland, because due to the events described above, he could not return to Ukraine (the borders were closed to entry). All this time he was living in an apartment that was provided to him for free by Team Kenguin, a cyber sports club from Poland. As Simpl wrote later, he was very grateful to Team Kinguin for their help and support.
Chronology of events (part 3)
The next thing that became known about Kostylev's life after his stay in Poland: he issued himself (it is unknown about his family members) in Portugal a special visa regime called temporary protection. Its essence is that the EU grants such a visa to refugees from war or political persecution for 1 year, and during 1 year the refugee can stay in the EU absolutely legally. Before the outbreak of hostilities in Ukraine, this visa regime was not in effect. It was renewed specifically to legalize the stay of Ukrainian refugees in Europe.
Having received temporary protection, Simpl began to think where he wanted to settle: in Spain or Portugal. Sasha decided on these countries because he liked the people and the climate.
When Simpl said on June 15 that he had to draw up documents and settle in a new place, he apparently then already planned to deal with this issue after Cologne and not to play in one of the August or September tournaments. So it wasn't until mid-August that we learned that s1mple would miss BLAST Premier: Fall Groups 2022.
Will s1mple return to Navi
In the CS GO community, Simple's decision not to perform at the Blast came as a shock. It has become such a familiar fact that where there's Navi, there's Sasha, that his absence now causes great discomfort. For example, official stats state that since August 4, 2016 (the day of Kostylev's move to Navi), Simpl has participated in all of his team's matches. Always.
However, there is no cause for despair. On Instagram, Simple posted a post with the words «To be continued», i.e. the continuation follows.
And indeed, there will be a sequel. Fans will be able to see the global cybersport star in the form of «Born to Win» as early as August 31, 2022, when the new season of ESL Pro League 16 kicks off. This has already been officially announced by the Navi leadership. So s1mple will skip BLAST Premier: Fall Groups 2022 and the bootcamp «Born to Win», and then return for more wins and possibly the title of best player of the decade, which could be awarded to him at the end of the November majors in Rio.
Who will replace Simpl on Blast
Kostylev
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s place will be temporarily taken by Daniil Valitov,who
plays under the nickname Headtr1ck, from the junior Navi team. He is now 18 years old, comes from Ukraine and is considered to be the most promising player, capable in 1-2 years to fully replace someone from the main squad of Natus Vincere in CS:GO. .
I assume that Hedtrick's participation in Blast is the desire of Navi management to give the young player a taste of big tournaments, to play on the stage, to stop being afraid of it. In general, it is a kind of stress test that will allow us to understand whether Daniil is psychologically ready to enter a new level, or whether he still needs time for additional preparation. This is especially relevant because a few months ago Headtrick talked about his confidence in his ability to become the next Counter Strike star like Beat or Monesi. However, there are doubts about this statement. There is an episode in Daniel's biography that speaks of his susceptibility to severe anxiety: at the very first lan at the age of 13, Hedtrick's hands were shaking. Though perhaps in his 18 years he has learned to control his emotions, the Navi will get another win, and s1mple will miss the BLAST Premier: Fall Groups 2022 for a reason.