S1mple Will Not Be Taking a Break From Competitive CS:GO

Last month, ahead of the BLAST Premier: Spring Finals 2022, Oleksandr "s1mple" Kostyliev, had spoken about taking a possible break from competitive CS:GO, sending shockwaves through the community.

Though NAVI did end up lifting the trophy in front of a packed crowd in Lisbon, the star player never really cleared the air about this break that he was thinking about.

During the IEM Cologne 2022 press conference, s1mple finally chose to speak on the topic and confirmed that he was not considering taking a break from competitive CS:GO any longer.

This is great news especially for NAVI who is looking to take back its throne, alongside seriously considering Viktor "sdy" Orudzhev as its fifth player after having announced he was a part of the roster for a second time.

CS:GO star s1mple not considering taking a break in the middle of the competitive season

NAVI is focused on rebuilding its CS:GO roster following the unfortunate departure of its former captain, Kirill "Boombl4" Mikhaylov. It has found a potential candidate in the Ukrainian rifler, sdy, who will be playing as a stand-in at IEM Cologne 2022 after helping the team qualify for the BLAST Premier: World Final 2022 last month.

Amidst all this, it would have been a huge blow for the Ukrainian esports organization to lose a player like s1mple. Someone who is not just irreplaceable, but is also the heart and soul of the team during a low phase like the one they are currently recovering from.

It must definitely be a huge relief not just for the organization but for the fans as well, to know that s1mple is not going anywhere and neither is it a thought in his mind that could distract him from playing to his full potential.

'What is the current status of your plans to take a break from the competitive scene?', s1mple responded to this question by saying "Nothing. Let it go! The summer break is coming, and a lot of things could be solved during it."

This answer was in response to the things that the 24-year-old had listed out earlier, like acquiring all his documents so he can finally move, getting a new house for himself to live in, setting up his life properly, taking a break from all the travel, and other such things.

NAVI will be playing its first match of the IEM Cologne 2022 later today against MOUZ at 19:30 IST. All eyes will be on the Ukrainian organization to see how far can they go in this tournament with all the latest changes.