A Fresh Start for s1mple
Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev is back in action, making his debut for BC.Game in the Proving Grounds Season 3. It’s his first official match since the Austin Major 2025, where he stood in for FaZe Clan but failed to make the playoffs. After a short break from competition, he returned at the end of July with BC.Game.
IT’S HAPPENING…@s1mpleO WILL play. TOMORROW. 🤩
Catch ALL the action in our Twitch channel 👇 pic.twitter.com/qpUANdmUOT
— BC Game Esports (@BCGameEsports) August 9, 2025
Mixed Performance on Debut
BC.Game claimed a 2–1 series win over CYBERSHOKE, but it wasn’t a flawless showing from the CS2 superstar.
BCGame pick up a win on s1mple’s debut 👏 pic.twitter.com/nMpl1EIO9A
— HLTV.org (@HLTVorg) August 10, 2025
Statistically, s1mple had the lowest HLTV rating in the squad (1.01), along with the weakest ADR and KAST.
Image via HLTV.org
However, he shone in the opening duels, winning 13 and losing only 3, a stat that helped keep BC.Game in control during key rounds.
The Standout Moment
One highlight came in the final pistol round on Ancient. With the map still in the balance, s1mple secured a tough frag before covering nexa during a bomb defuse. That clutch protection boosted BC.Game’s economy and allowed them to close the map 13–8.
Blaming the Anti-Cheat
After losing the first map, s1mple explained his struggles in his Telegram channel, pointing to technical issues.
According to him, the anti-cheat caused his game to freeze around ten times. “Now we know what online gaming is all about,”
😔 s1mple explained the reason behind the loss in his Telegram channel: it’s all because of the anti-cheat. pic.twitter.com/lUgCDN6vyl
— CS2 NEWS (@CS2News_EN) August 10, 2025
What’s Next in Proving Grounds S3
The Proving Grounds Season 3 is being held online from August 10 to 22, with $86.6k in prize money and ranked VRS points up for grabs. Big names like BetBoom Team, Fnatic, OG, and ENCE are already set for the playoffs, so there’s plenty more CS2 action ahead.