FaZe has officially announced that they have acquired Oleksandr ‘s1mple’ Kostyliev on a loan from Natus Vincere until the conclusion of the Austin Major. The three-time Player of the Year will take the place of Helvijs ‘broky’ Saukants, who has been shifted to the bench as the team aims to improve after a lackluster start to the year.
‘s1mple’ has not been active since the Europe RMR of the Shanghai Major, where he was on loan to Falcons. The loan agreement was expected to continue until the end of 2024, but it was terminated early after the team did not qualify for the Major.
This was s1mple’s second loan period with the Saudi organization, following his participation in the BLAST Premier Spring Showdown earlier in 2024.
On FaZe, ‘s1mple’ will be rejoining Jonathan ‘EliGE’ Jablonowski, his former Liquid teammate from 2016. That roster achieved significant success in both Majors that year, finishing in the top four at MLG Columbus and taking second place at ESL One Cologne.
‘s1mple’ becomes part of a team that has not met the expectations created by EliGE’s notable signing during the off-season. The North American player was recruited to take the place of Robin ‘ropz’ Kool, who has regained his top form as a member of a powerful Vitality squad that secured its fifth consecutive Big Event victory on Sunday.
FaZe’s only notable achievements in the first four months of the year were finishing fourth at PGL Cluj-Napoca and third at PGL Bucharest. The team was unable to qualify for the playoffs at IEM Melbourne and ended up in 5th-6th place at BLAST Rivals, where they failed to win a map against either Falcons or MOUZ and had to exert considerable effort to defeat FlyQuest.
‘s1mple’ is set to make his debut with FaZe at IEM Dallas, which is scheduled to begin on May 19. This event will be the team’s last tournament before the Austin Major, where they will kick off their journey in Stage 2.
FaZe Announcement
FaZe roster is as follows:
- Finn ‘karrigan’ Andersen
- Håvard ‘rain’ Nygaard
- Jonathan ‘EliGE’ Jablonowski
- David ‘frozen’ Čerňanský
- Oleksandr ‘s1mple’ Kostyliev (loan)
- Filip ‘NEO’ Kubski (coach)
- Helvijs ‘broky’ Saukants (benched)
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