s1mple Took the “Best AWPer” Challenge — and Didn’t Stop at a Single Name

Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev took part in the popular challenge “Stay silent until you hear an AWPer who was better than you in your prime,” but the test did not last long for him. According to the player, none of the suggested candidates surpassed his peak level of play.

During the challenge, s1mple listened to the names of famous AWP players from different eras of the professional scene, including Ilya “m0NESY” Osipov, Nicolai “device” Reedtz, Gabriel “FalleN” Toledo, Jame “Jame” Ali, and others. Each time a name was mentioned, Kostyliev made it clear that he did not consider any of them superior to himself during his prime years.

The only player s1mple singled out separately was Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut. According to the Ukrainian sniper, the French star came closest to matching his level, although he still did not surpass him at his peak. As a result, ZywOo was named his closest rival among all the players mentioned.

The full list of players featured in the challenge included:

• Igor “w0nderful” Zhdanov;

• Özgür “woxic” Eker;

• Ladislav “GuardiaN” Kovács;

• Usukhbayar “910” Banzragch;

• Jame “Jame” Ali;

• Danil “molodoy” Golubenko;

• Dmitry “sh1ro” Sokolov;

• Ilya “m0NESY” Osipov;

• Nicolai “device” Reedtz;

• Kenny “kennyS” Schrub;

• Gabriel “FalleN” Toledo;

• Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut.

CS Is the Most Watched Esports Discipline on Twitch in 2025

Currently, s1mple is competing with BCGame at IEM Krakow 2026. Later today, his team will face 3DMAX in a match for a spot in the group stage of the tournament.