Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyljev is back in the CS2 game with an insanely high buyout price on his contract, but middling interest may result in a price drop.
The Ukranian esports player s1mple has won many trophies and a major with Natus Vincere and is widely regarded to be one the best CSGO player of all time. When it first leaked that Navi was pricing out the remainder of s1mple’s contract at $3 million, many fans assumed the he would spend the rest of his career benched or with the well-funded Team Falcons. But the price might be a little high even for the Saudi Arabian team.
New information suggests that while s1mple is playing for the Falcons, executives are working behind the scene to cut his buyout price.
s1mple’s buyout may be reduced to signal a permanent sale to Team Falcons.
Independent esports reporter Richard Lewis states in a recent video that if Team Falcons commits to buying out s1mple’s contract, it would get a reduced rate. The team paid Navi a fee to borrow s1mple for three months starting at the end of September. Ultimately, everyone needed to see s1mple play again to know if he was going to be worth the high investment, especially since his last failed stint with Falcons.
s1mple also reportedly received multiple offers to buyout the rest of his contract, though from what team or teams remain unknown. Lewis adds that the Ukrainian CS2 player chose Team Falcons because its executives have promised to remake the team around him and Nikola “NiKo” Kovac if he enjoys playing. Rumors have claimed that NiKo is in talks with Falcons. However, he currently remains a member of acclaimed roster G2 Esports.
In his first matches back to CS2, s1mple and the rest of Falcons lost all seven matches.
At both ESL Challenger Katowice 2024 and Thunderpick World Championship 2024 play-in, Team Falcons lost the seven games that it played. s1mple averaged a respectable 1.14 rating as a rifler and seconder AWPer between the two tournaments, according to HLTV. With more practice, both for s1mple and for the team together, Team Falcons could become a formidable opponent. For now, the team has performed well below expectation.
Team Falcons has until late December to decide if it wants to retain s1mple or let someone else buy out his contract. The player’s next public chance to prove his skills is at the Perfect World Shanghai Major 2024 European RMR A.
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