CS:GO’s GOAT player, Oleksandr ‘s1mple’ Kostyliev, has said that due to his rare understanding of FPS games, he believes he would be the best in any game he chose, including Warzone and Call of Duty.
s1mple is widely regarded as the best Counter-Strike player of all time, and dominated CS:GO for much of its decade-long run as an esport, before it was replaced by CS2 in 2023.
The Ukranian has since taken a break from competing since the release of CS2, although still plays the game regularly on his stream. He also dabbles in other shooters, including Warzone.
Speaking to journalist and content creator Duncan ‘Thorin’ Shields on his Reflections interview series, s1mple revealed that he believes his talent for FPS games would translate to other games, specifically Warzone, if he dedicated himself to it.
s1mple’s “power” applies to any FPS game
Thorin asked s1mple if fellow star player Niko ‘Niko‘ Kovac could ever be considered the GOAT of CS:GO, given he primarily uses a rifle, and not the powerful AWP, like s1mple.
But, s1mple said that if there was no AWP in CS, he still believes he would have been the best player with only a rifle, due to his “power” in FPS games.
“I know my power,” he said. “I feel like I know more about this game, or any other FPS game. Even if I [went to] Warzone right now, I know that I will do a lot of damage.”
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“Theres should be an understanding of the game, that’s what every CS player needs to understand. The way how you read them, and the way how you put your crosshairs with angles, the way you hear sounds so your crosshair placement would be better.”
s1mple admitted that some fans have suggested his crosshair placement is not as good as other pros, but explained that if he knows there is no danger, he is not concerned about where his crosshair is, because of his deep understanding of the game.
Instead, he can keep his eyes on the radar, rather than where his weapon is aiming.
For now, it doesn’t appear s1mple has any plans to go pro in another game, and is instead working on a yet-to-announced project, related to Counter-Strike. But, one would be foolish to doubt his ability to do serious damage in Call of Duty if he chose to.