NaVi and s1mple won their first CSGO Major at PGL Stockholm 2021. The journey to the Major was epic and never short of excitement.
S1mple has been s1mple0 for quite a long time. It’s a well-known meme in the CSGO community. Sasha still keeps the name which Twitter fondly handles.
It’s a reminder of the pain and persistence of CSGO’s GOAT, NaVi s1mple. But the story has only just begun.
Enjoy all 33 kills @s1mpleO abandoned in the match against @TeamLiquidCS to #BLASTWorldFinal 2021!
🎥: https://t.co/OUhrWr08Ik#CSGO #navigation pic.twitter.com/QCkDSokiiH
— NAVI (@natusvincere) January 12, 2022
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S1mple joined NaVi in 2016 after feeling homesick while in Team Liquid. The Ukrainian prodigy made the news wherever he went. But, the winning formula was still missing.
Except good things happen to people who wait. Hence, the rise of the CIS region in esports has been immense in 2021. More so with Team spiritexploits of at The International 2021.
Team Spirit is the grand champion of The International 10. Congratulations. They take home $18 million. The Aegis of Champions returns to Eastern Europe after a decade. #TI10 #Dota2 pic.twitter.com/kGo0MUYI3z
— Wykrhm Reddy (@wykrhm) October 17, 2021
In Valorant too, the presence and dominance of Eastern European teams was clearly visible. Gambit Esports made a serious statement throughout 2021, with the victory of the Masters Berlin.
The CIS region has been pretty dominant in ESports in 2021. CSGO, Dota 2, and Valorant to name a few.
Let’s remember the most memorable moments of NAVI #CSGO to #BLASTPremier World Final 2021!
📽️: https://t.co/nvVoVUMiqE#navigation pic.twitter.com/G7rkD0stOn
— NAVI (@natusvincere) December 27, 2021
CSGO teams around the world are feeling the pressure. It’s awkward for most teams. They cannot move the mountain, named NaVi.
To be fair, only Gambit ESports showed some resilience against NaVi and S1mple. NaVi suffered at the start of 2020 in online matches. Except Sasha just kept going, game after game, set after set, round after round.
S1mple and Electronic together make the most dynamic team ever. The young energetic IGL Booml4, the dynamic Perfecto and the young prodigy b1t.
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.@b1tcs‘ in the biggest events of 2021 and in big games propelled him to 9th place in his rookie year in the top 20 ranking!
🔗 https://t.co/f82zFCjdwy
Powered by @ggbet_en pic.twitter.com/YnPA5tMPmA
— HLTV.org (@HLTVorg) January 14, 2022
An old adage says: “When the going gets tough, the tough get started.” And the man has become difficult. As the skill cap increased and map changes came in, the meta changed completely.
NaVi and Sasha were working hard. And this was clearly visible from their overall setups and performance. As the 2021 BLAST Premier World Finals rolled around, Natus Vincere was a completely different monster.
Oleksandr “S1mple” Kostyliev’s journey to undisputed greatness has never been easy. He had to wait six years for the perfect moment to win a major tournament.
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S1mple won their first CSGO Major with NaVi at PGL Stockholm.
On top of that, he helped build the most successful CSGO prodigy of all time. NaVi b1t has stats no one ever matches if the wins continue. b1t has won every LAN tournament he has visited since 2020.
6 out of 6 LANS to be precise. Currently, the world will look to NaVi to continue the unbeaten streak. But these are the teams that suffered the most during the PGL Stockholm Major 2021.
It’s time to read the interview with NAVI @b1tcs for @HLTVorg!
📰: https://t.co/9UuEUKFr3U#CSGO #navigation pic.twitter.com/fmfs8kA9LI
— NAVI (@natusvincere) January 14, 2022
NaVi won the entire tournament without dropping a single card! It’s crazy. 2-0 every game, start to finish. Vitality, G2 and gods of the online era, Gambit were the latest victims of NaVi and s1mple’s legendary Major.
The teams understood that the era of NaVi Nation had just begun. Teams have been desperate for a single win since the 2020 online tournaments, so a reshuffle was in order.
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The CSGO Pro market is quite active right now, due to the dominance of NaVi and s1mple.
I kept my word, I won the Major with the best organization in the world and the best people I’ve ever played with, thank you all for your support, it’s the best thing that ever happened to me #navigation #PGLMajor #Champions pic.twitter.com/ngSyRSz464
— Sacha (@s1mpleO) November 7, 2021
If there was a Major to win, this was it. The PGL Stockholm Major was much more of a symbolic hope for many teams. The preparation for the Major was the longest ever, with the largest prize pool in CSGO Esports history.
The timing couldn’t be better or worse for the teams. Every professional team felt they had to win at least one tournament. Team Vitality won one at Intel Extreme Masters Winters XVI. But it was the only LAN that NaVi hadn’t visited.
BLAST Premier World Finals repeated the same story. Although the race was not clean, it was enough to decimate everyone. Gambit, the online gods, failed again in a LAN against NaVi. However, the fight was bitter.
#CSGO has a problem.
And it’s not the cheaters in matchmaking, nor the abyssal tick rate.
Watch: https://t.co/AqZ6r8S93t pic.twitter.com/uWHndqSLx5
— theScore esports (@theScoreesports) February 21, 2019
Team Vitality was the first to let go. The NA, Astralis and then Western Europe teams follow. Therefore, all the other teams are feeling the pressure.
The real reason is finance. At the moment, teams have been bleeding money since 2020 due to pandemic norms. And with S1mple1 and NaVi dominating, the problems aren’t ending anytime soon.
The era of King S1mple and several major CSGO dreams continues.
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