Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev’s computer getting inspected mid-match sparked confusion and controversy at IEM Katowice.
On the second day of IEM Katowice, tournament officials were seen inspecting s1mple’s computer in the middle of a match against ENCE. Fans immediately speculated that s1mple’s computer was somehow tampered with. but talent and officials gave no official explanation on stream, further fueling the rumor mill.
While definitely not evidence of the greatest active CSGO player cheating, this incident hints towards multiple technical issues at the $1 million LAN.
The incident happened between two maps in Natus Vincere’s group stage duel against ENCE. s1mple’s uncharacteristically poor performance with just 12 kills in 20 rounds led to Na’Vi losing on Nuke for the first time in almost 20 matches. Before the decider on Overpass, tournament officials inspected s1mple’s computer. When the third map rolled around, s1mple was allegedly playing on a completely new setup. Fans immediately began speculating if his rig had been sabotaged in some way, but the answer appears much more innocent.
In response to fans, s1mple took to social media to clear up the situation.
According to his explanation, he started to experience lag and stuttering as early as the first rounds on Nuke. He pointed out the issue to tournament staff, who routinely inspected his computer before switching it out for a new one. s1mple still performed poorly after the change, but Natus Vincere still managed to win the best-of-three and continue its run in the upper bracket.
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IEM Katowice uses new overtime money values
s1mple’s laggy computer isn’t the only thing surprising fans at IEM Katowice. In the three overtime matches so far, the players have started with $12,500 instead of the customary $16,000. While fans initially thought this was a mixup, it actually confines to a new rule that has yet to be added to the
formal rulebook.
Former ESL head referee Michal Slowinski was the first to point this out. He claims that the rule was changed at the beginning of the month and that teams were made aware at least a week before the event. The rule hasn’t been added to the official list yet because it would interfere with currently-ongoing ESL Pro League events. It should be integrated after the conclusion of IEM Katowice.
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