s1mple is back to playing Valorant after his surprise ban

Olivia Richman Published 29/03/2021

Even though Counter-Strike: Global Offensive star Sasha “s1mple” Kostyliev believes Valorant is “too simple,” he wasn’t looking to get banned from the game entirely. But that’s exactly what happened. 

s1mple didn’t share the reason behind the surprise ban, and the CSGO AWPer might not even know why it happened himself. He joked with Valorant pro Adil “ScreaM” Benrlitom that it was due to him being “just too good” and was possibly reported for cheating due to his incredible skills. 

On March 27, s1mple logged into Valorant to find that he couldn’t queue up for another match. That was after he reached Immortal, the game’s second-highest rank. s1mple was clearly shocked at the time, tweeting that he’s “not a cheater.” He also didn’t seem to know when the ban would end. 

Valorant esports strategist Riley Yurk saw s1mple’s frustration on social media and reached out. Soon after, s1mple was unbanned from Riot’s tactical shooter. It appeared he may have been wrongly banned for toxicity in voice chat, but it’s still not entirely clear what happened to block s1mple from competing.

CSGO fans are most likely unhappy that s1mple will be able to play Valorant again. A lot of top CSGO pros have already made the switch to the newer FPS. But while s1mple would most likely make “millions of dollars a year” playing Valorant, he recently called the game “too simple” and voiced frustrations with its weapons. So he most likely isn’t making a complete switch any time soon.  

How many hours does s1mple have on CSGO?

The Ukranian CSGO player had over 16,000 hours in the game as of February 2020. He hasn’t slowed down since. He streams about three to four hours every single day, and practices more beyond that.

Olivia Richman

About Olivia Richman

Olivia has worked in media ever since graduating from college, with her coverage ranging from traditional newspaper reporting to digital coverage of all things gaming, online betting, and nerd culture. She has traveled around the world pursuing that coverage, from the far coasts of the United States to the busy downtown core of Tokyo, Japan. Olivia’s favorite games include Overwatch and Super Smash Smash Bros, and she has been published at Esports Illustrated, Inven Global, EsportsInsider, Upcomer, and elsewhere.

View full profile

Read Also

Twitch

Jynxzi’s Rainbow Six Siege Tournament: Format, Date and Roster Khizar Mundia Nicholas “Jynxzi” Stewart’s Rainbow Six Siege tournament is about to start, and this time Ubisoft is also supporting the event. With the roster now confirmed, Twitch drops will also be available to viewers throughout the stream. Jynxzi is best known for his Rainbow Six Siege content, even though he regularly plays several other games, including GTA 5. The streamer still revisits Rainbow Six Siege both on stream and through the tournaments ...

Dota 2

Teams travelling to TI15 had to contend with a Typhoon that flooded the streets of Shanghai Michael Hassall It’s not often that the elements themselves conspire against Dota 2 players, but as players started to head to China for TI15, some were left stranded by the arrival of Typhoon Dolphin to the eastern China coast. OG and other teams, potentially including PARIVISION (competing at TI as Team VISION), seemingly found themselves with extended layovers as Shanghai Airport cancelled flights in the wake of Typhoon Dolphin. While all the ...

GTA

Trade on Which Songs Will Make It Onto the GTA 6 Radio at Kalshi — Use Promo Code WINGGPREMAR Zachary Roberts Like all previous games in the series, GTA 6 will have an extensive in-house array of radio stations which will be a major part of gameplay. The radio adds a lifelike wrinkle to Grand Theft Auto games whenever you get in a vehicle, which, as the franchise name suggests, is pretty often. Some players enjoy just riding around the setting of the game listening to music. GTA 5 and Online ...

Dota 2

The International 2026 schedule: Dota 2 TI15 full schedule and day-by-day Michael Hassall The International 2026, TI15, is finally here, and with the event starting it’s time to watch the greatest Dota 2 teams from around the globe compete for the game’s ultimate prize: The Aegis of Champions. With TI15 taking place in Shanghai, China, and in a completely different timezone for many of its viewers, the schedule and timings can be a bit hard to follow. That’s why we’ve put together a ...

Twitch

Kai Cenat and iShowSpeed Minecraft Marathon: Rules and Highlights So Far Khizar Mundia Kai Cenat and Darren “iShowSpeed” Watkins Jr.’s much-awaited Minecraft marathon is now live, with the pair revealing the event's rules. While the two haven’t been faring well in their mission, fans are invested to see whether they can complete the marathon, which is being streamed on YouTube and Twitch. Here is a look at the rules for Kai Cenat and iShowSpeed’s 2026 Minecraft marathon, as well as some of the ...

News

YouTube Increases Viewership Requirement for Earning Ad Revenue Hannan Mundia Despite YouTube being a cornerstone for creators hoping to quickly start earning money from their content, the platform is increasing its viewership requirement following changes to the YouTube Partner Program. While content creators today can utilize the monetization programs offered by multiple platforms, that wasn’t always the case. Previously, YouTube was the only reliable platform that paid its creators fairly. Of course, this only applied to those who had met ...

Twitch

Asmongold Banned on Twitch and Reveals Health Scare Khizar Mundia Zack “Asmongold” Hoyt has been banned from Twitch on his Zackrawrr channel, and he uploaded a video in response, also revealing that he had been busy dealing with a worrying health scare. Asmongold is infamous for his controversial and blunt takes on serious matters, and the streamer’s political opinions have led to him butting heads with Twitch multiple times. The streamer has recently been banned from Twitch again, and viewers ...