s1mple sure he can reach top 20 next year

s1mple believes he can play well enough to rank among the 20 best Counter-Strike 2 players of 2027, Cybersport.ru reported on Nov. 7. The 29-year-old AWPer, whose full name is Aleksandr Kostylev, made the comment to the portal 5EPlay.

According to Cybersport.ru, s1mple said he can make the top 20 next year without problems. He added that he knows exactly how he needs to play, but that at this stage everything depends on his team’s chemistry and synergy.

What he said about practice

s1mple said he is already performing convincingly in practice against the best players in his role. By his account, he outplayed three teams from the top five of the world ranking in practice matches, playing better than their players.

He added that practice matches differ from official ones. Even so, he said, everyone gives their maximum, especially AWPers such as m0NESY, w0nderful and ZywOo. They also played against him in practice and wanted to test themselves, he said, and he described the chances in their duels as 50-50.

Background

Cybersport.ru wrote that s1mple was last in the top 20 players at the end of 2023, when he played for Natus Vincere. According to the outlet, he now plays for BCGame, which has qualified for PGL Major Singapore 2026 and will start there in Stage 1.