Five years of s1mple in Natus Vincere

Five-year anniversary for the best player in the world and his team.

Feels like it was yesterday, when “s1mple”’s clutch buried Fnatic in Columbus and made him legendary. Five years forward, Ukranian prodigy is not a mere star anymore, but the most feared CS:GO player on the entire planet.

His alliance with Natus Vincere is a double-edged sword. On one hand, “s1mple” is a media icon, NAVI is one of the most recognizable esports brands and they have won more than a dozen events in those five years. On the other hand, Natus Vincere were never particularly close to winning a Major, running into an Astralis buzzsaw time and time again, losing to ENCE Esports in Katowice, falling apart on the grandest of stages.

It was never a “s1mple”’s fault and this time, PGL Major Stockholm is NAVI’s to lose. They seem to be the only team capable of beating Gambit Esports consistently, their entire team performs on LAN even better than they do online and they have the best player in the world, who is scorching hot the entire year.

Five years have passed, but it is more than a decade since Natus Vincere have last won Major. If anyone can bring it back, it’s “s1mple”.