Professional Counter Strike: Global Offensive player Sasha Kostyliev, also known as S1mple, took the stage at the Intel Extreme Masters tournament to call for peace in his home country of Ukraine.“My whole career, I’ve played with Russian players, I’ve played with Ukrainian players, and I’ve played with American players,” he said. “All of us want peace for Ukraine, and for the whole world.” “All of us need to show example in this tournament, for the whole world,” he continued. “We all need to stay humans first”Kostyliev is considered one of the best Counter Strike: Global Offensive players of all time, and last year was named Esports Player of the Year at the Game Awards. He was in Katowice, Poland this weekend when Russia launched an invasion into Ukraine. Kostyliev is from Kyiv, and tweeted emotionally about the invasion as it happened.
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At the tournament, the hosts asked Kostyliev how he was doing, and he was given the microphone. He called for peace in Ukraine, saying that while “esports is out of politics,” he has played with people from all over the world, including Russia, and all he wants is peace.
The IEM tournament takes place this weekend in Poland. S1mple and his team, Natus Vincere, entered the competition ranked first in Europe.