The Ukrainian Esports Federation has disqualified s1mple for playing alongside a Russian player
The Ukrainian Esports Federation has officially announced that it has blacklisted Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostylev, one of Ukraine’s most famous Counter-Strike 2 players.
The decision was made due to the Ukrainian sniper’s repeated appearances in official matches on the same team as a citizen of the Russian Federation.
The main reason for the sanctions was the star esports player’s participation on the “BC.Game” team, where his partner was Russian player Denis “electroNic” Sharipov.
According to an official statement from the governing body, the sanctions have clear time limits and terms of enforcement. The suspension will remain in effect until June 30, 2027, and applies only to tournaments organized under the auspices of the Ukrainian Esports Federation.
In addition, the restrictions apply to competitions where the national federation or its official members act as partners or provide organizational support.
The most significant consequence of this decision is that Oleksandr Kostylev automatically loses the right to represent the country on the international stage.
The current UESF rules clearly state: “If a member of the Ukrainian national team is included on the list, he is automatically excluded from the national team.”
At the same time, this ban will not affect most major international tournaments organized by third-party operators or “major” series tournaments.
If “s1mple” plays even one more match against a Russian esports player, his suspension will automatically be extended for another year.
While well-known veterans of the scene are facing sanctions for playing against representatives of the aggressor country, young Ukrainian teams are striving to develop a purely national ecosystem.
One such example is the esports team Leo Team, which actively promotes domestic gaming and creates unique content for the community.
You can follow the organization’s news, announcements, and roster changes on their official Telegram channel.
Recently, the “Lions” have shown solid results on the European Tier 2/3 scene and have even ranked among the top 50 teams in Europe according to analytics portals.
In particular, a standout achievement in their recent history was their successful performance in the CCT Season 3 Europe, a stable European online series.
Recently, the Ukrainian esports team Leo Team secured an important victory, defeating their opponents from PsychoFace with a score of 2:1 in the current series.
