A Ukrainian has become world’s best cybersportsman in the online shooter game “Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.”
Professional video game player Alexander Kostylev — nicknamed s1mple and aged 21 — has topped the global ranking of the best “Counter-Strike” gamers compiled by HLTV.org, a Danish cybersports website.
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Kostylev has been playing Counter-Strike since he was 16. Having played games professionally for six years, Kostylev has earned $420,000 and participated in 77 tournaments. He has won 14 global tournaments — six of them last year. The Ukrainian won $237,000 in 2018.
“This was such a historic year for s1mple (Kostylev),” said HLTV’s co-owner Petar Milovanovic, commenting on the ranking.
The cybersportsman plays for the team Natus Vincere — or NaVi for short — a Ukrainian eSports organization with teams and players competing in “Counter-Strike: Global Offensive,” “Dota 2,” “FIFA,” “World of Tanks,” and “League of Legends.” Founded in 2009, NaVi is now a famous European cybersports team, winning numerous international awards. Its total winnings account for $3 million.
NaVi was the first team in Counter-Strike history to win three major tournaments in one calendar year — Intel Extreme Masters, Electronic Sports World Cup and World Cyber Games 2010. In last year’s major international tournament with a $1-million prize, called FACEIT Major: London, the NaVi team were runners-up.
Kostylev’s performance for the team was highly acclaimed: in 2018, Kostylev was named “most valuable player” two times, playing for NaVi at international tournaments.
“Having started as a very talented but inexperienced Ukrainian player, he has swiftly evolved into one of the superstars of the game,” Kostylev’s profile on the NaVi website reads.
The Kyiv Post’s technology coverage is sponsored by Ciklum and NIX Solutions. The content is independent of the donors.
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