After taking a break from competitive Counter-Strike for over a year, fans had been eagerly waiting for s1mple’s return. And now he’s finally back, this time rocking the FaZe Clan jersey, on the biggest stage of arguably the best esports on the planet.
The widely regarded CS GOAT had actually tried to return last year when NAVI loaned him to Team Falcons. But things didn’t go as planned. Falcons fell short of qualifying for the Shanghai Major, and s1mple’s comeback never really took off.
Fast forward to now, and the story’s different. On loan to FaZe, the Ukrainian star is showing that he’s still got what it takes to compete at the highest level—at the Austin Major 2025, no less.
In a recent chat with retired pro Dosia (yes, the 200 IQ nade king), s1mple opened up about how he turned things around both physically and mentally to make his return possible.
“I’ve got friends in Poland, they’re working out a lot. They told me, ‘You have to go to the gym.’ So we all went together,” s1mple said, translated from Russian.
At that point, the 27-year-old AWPer was already a few steps into turning his life around. He revealed that it wasn’t just a physical transformation but a full reset of his habits and mindset.
“I already started to change my life. I did my first steps. I stopped drinking alcohol and all the other stuff. I started going to gym and somehow this happens.”
Not long after that, FaZe Clan’s rifler rain reached out, and he started practicing with the renowned squad. On May 5, 2025, FaZe officially announced s1mple would be stepping in for broky at IEM Dallas and Austin Major.
Sasha’s comeback didn’t start with fireworks, though, as FaZe has just started integrating him into the lineup. They had a rough showing at IEM Dallas, missing the playoffs and finishing 9th-12th.
S1mple himself didn’t expect everything to click immediately. He knew it would take time to find his rhythm again, and that happened when FaZe began their bootcamp.
“I told the team from the very beginning as soon as we have the bootcamp, I will play better. And once the bootcamp started, I felt how I started to play better,” said s1mple.
By the time Austin Major’s Stage 2 rolled around, he was back on the AWP and making plays, though he admitted the nerves were still there. FaZe started strong with a 2-0, but dropped back-to-back advancement series to Legacy and 3DMAX. They had to fight their way through a decider match against MIBR, and they did just that, securing their Stage 3 spot with a 3-2 record.
Once Stage 3 kicked off, the GOAT showed up. S1mple came through with a stellar 37-18 KD and a 1.47 rating in a 2-0 victory over The MongolZ, showing off nasty flicks, clean clutches, and that unmistakable swagger.
FaZe barged into the playoffs off a 3-1 campaign, and s1mple was back in a Major playoff for the first time since the BLAST.tv Paris edition in 2023. They are now gearing up for a rematch against MongolZ in the quarterfinals on Friday, June 20, and they’ve definitely got momentum on their side.
With s1mple finding his form and the home crowd likely rallying behind FaZe at the Moody Center, a deep playoff run isn’t out of the question. In fact, cruising to the grand final and getting a real shot at the Major title is possible. Whatever happens, though, s1mple’s comeback to CS2 is a great reminder of how much personal growth can impact performance in and out of the server.
