S1mple on FaZe’s BLAST Major Progress: “So Much Pressure — But I’ll Be Better Next Stage”

FaZe Clan AWPer Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev shared his emotions after the team qualified for Stage 3 of the BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025 in CS2. He expressed relief after a tense run and promised to step up his game in the next phase. He also joked about the team’s failed pick’em predictions.

“You have no idea how happy I am. There was so much pressure — I almost cried. But this is just the beginning. I promise I’ll play much better in the next stage. I can’t wait,” s1mple said.

He also commented on pick’ems with a touch of humor:

“Guys, do you even make predictions? Only our manager got the first stage right. None of us made the correct picks for the first two stages. I feel like I’ll finish the Major with a bronze coin,” he added.

On the night of June 11, FaZe Clan defeated MIBR in an elimination match with a 2:0 scoreline, securing a spot in the next round. The team will face Aurora Gaming next, with the match scheduled for June 12 at 20:30 MSK.

In Stage 2 of the Major, s1mple posted a 1.08 rating across eight maps. Over 166 rounds, he recorded 107 kills and 106 deaths, with an average damage per round (ADR) of 71.9.