The CS:GO G.O.A.T. returns to CS2 after a five-month absence to reinforce a struggling FaZe Clan.
FaZe Clan shocked the Counter-Strike 2 (CS2) community on Monday (5 April) by signing 
Aleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev on loan from 
Natus Vincere (NAVI), in a last-ditch attempt to improve the team ahead of Intel Extreme Masters (IEM) Dallas 2025 and the BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025.
S1mple will be taking over as FaZe's AWPer from 
Helvijs “broky” Saukants, who was benched shortly before the former's signing was announced. Broky had been with FaZe since September 2019, with the organisation stating that he will still remain with the team on their inactive roster as FaZe “explore our options moving forward."
S1mple to reinforce a struggling FaZe for IEM Dallas, Austin Major
FaZe's shocking acquisition of s1mple comes after an abysmal run from the team so far in 2025 following the departure of 
Robin “ropz” Kool for
Team Vitality. FaZe replaced ropz with 
Jonathan “EliGE” Jablonowski, and while the latter has arguably been the team's most impactful player since, the team as a whole looked listless and failed to secure any noteworthy results.
Ropz's departure stings further when considering he has sparked Vitality's ongoing run of dominance this year, which includes five straight tournament victories–with the latest coming at BLAST Rivals Spring 2025–as well as a historic 25-match win streak to go with claiming the ESL Grand Slam Season 5's US$1 million prize.
FaZe captain 
Finn “karrigan” Andersen candidly gave his thoughts on the team's roster moves in a series of posts on his personal X (formerly Twitter) account, saying broky's benching was the “roughest benching of his career” but that “something had to be done." Karrigan clarified that this was not pinning FaZe's struggles on broky, admitting that the lineup “didn’t work and I used all my experience.”
“I wanna express that I know the beast is inside of [broky] and I feel bad we couldn’t get it out lately. We all failed in the team and that’s the sad part, but I know and I hope we get to see the beast in him again soon,” added karrigan.
Karrigan also admitted that the decision to sign s1mple was a “Hail Mary at the Major” and that “long term we have no idea yet what's gonna happen" even if the team is being reinforced by the player widely considered to be the greatest of all time in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO).
“Unique opportunity and I’m looking forward to play with this GOAT at the Major. This is an all-in move, we are going for the trophy at the Major even if [s1mple] is only a stand-in. I know we can win,” karrigan said on s1mple's move to FaZe.
S1mple notably joins FaZe after mostly being absent from competitive play since CS2 replaced CS:GO. After joining NAVI in August 2016 and leading the team to 13 S-Tier tournament victories, including the PGL Major Stockholm 2021, s1mple was benched in October 2023 just a month after CS2's release.
While s1mple remains on contract with NAVI, he was previously loaned to 
Team Falcons for three months from September to November 2024 to reinforce the latter team for the Perfect World Shanghai Major 2024. However, s1mple and Falcons failed to qualify for the Shanghai Major after getting knocked out in the fourth round of the tournament's European Regional Major Ranking (RMR) A event.
Shortly after their elimination from the Shanghai Major, s1mple confirmed he will not be continuing with Falcons beyond his initial three-month loan. S1mple remained inactive since last November prior to joining FaZe.
S1mple will now be looking to revitalise a struggling team ahead of a Major for the second time, though this latest stint with FaZe is looking more promising compared to his time with Falcons.
FaZe's core trio of karrigan, 
Håvard “rain” Nygaard, and 
David “frozen” Čerňanský still remain from the roster that won IEM Chengdu 2024 and finished second in the Shanghai Major and the PGL Major Copenhagen 2024 last year. Karrigan and rain also won the PGL Major Antwerp 2022. Despite FaZe's recent struggles, the CS:GO G.O.A.T. (greatest of all time) reinforcing their ranks just might be what the team needs to return to their championship form of old.
S1mple is set to make his debut with FaZe in IEM Dallas 2025, which will take place from 19 to 25 May. The team will then compete in the BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025 from 2 to 22 June.
FaZe Clan CS2 roster:
