NAVI is reportedly replacing s1mple with up-and-coming CS2 star

Natus Vincere is reportedly about to swap s1mple, the greatest CS:GO player ever, with Sprout’s young AWPer Ihor “⁠w0nderful⁠” Zhdano at the beginning of CS2’s cycle.

The upcoming roster change was reported by HLTV on Oct. 26 and it comes after s1mple didn’t attend IEM Sydney, the first big CS2 tournament, with the rest of the NAVI squad. The organization was forced to field its head coach Andrij “B1ad3” Ghorodensjkyj as a last-minute stand-in.

S1mple reportedly missed IEM Sydney because his EU residency papers were not ready and he could have had trouble going back to Europe if he left for Sydney.

Later on, though, s1mple said on stream he wasn’t sure he’d attend the BLAST Premier Fall Final, NAVI’s next tournament. This prompted fans to think the Ukrainian superstar was on his way out of the lineup, which now seems to be the case, according to HLTV’s report.

S1mple is under contract with NAVI until October 2025 as he signed a three-year extension in 2022 and isn’t close to joining another team, according to HLTV. The GOAT has been heavily criticizing the state of CS2, to the point he advised aspiring pros to wait three months before grinding. One source with knowledge of s1mple’s situation told HLTV he’s taking a break from the game.

S1mple has been NAVI’s main face in Counter-Strike since he joined the organization in 2016. He helped the org win numerous titles, including the PGL Major Stockholm in November 2021, IEM Cologne in July 2021, and ESL Pro League season 14 in September 2021—which allowed NAVI to win the Intel Grand Slam season three.

W0nderful, on the other hand, is one of the most exciting prospects in the CS scene, having made a name for himself while he played for Team Spirit between June 2022 and June 2023. He’s been on Sprout’s roster since July and is averaging a 1.23 rating across 155 maps played this year, according to HLTV.

NAVI has less than a month to figure out its roster for the BLAST Premier Fall Final, which will run from Nov. 22 to 26 in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Update Oct. 26 11:58am CT: S1mple confirmed he’s taking a break from competition via Twitter. He’s willing to hear offers and switch to primary rifler.