s1mple bags #7 on HLTV’s top 20 for 2023

In what many considered a shocking reveal, HLTV unveiled the next candidate in the top 20 for 2023 ladder and it was s1mple, the AWP legend who bagged #7, placing well above many players who have been extremely active in the professional Counter-Strike 2 scene.

Having bagged #1 in 2018, 2021 and 2022, s1mple was on a five year streak where he made it to top 5. His #7 appearance this year, marks his eighth consecutive appearance in the top 20.

The G.O.A.T himself took to X, reacting to his placement with a sly "0 CS2 official games, #7 ez". In the latter part of his post he mentioned that frozen deserved the spot more and would trade places with him.

After back to back explosive years with a flurry of MVP medals at his disposal, s1mple had a dry 2023, not managing to secure a single MVP medal. He secured EVP accolades at IEM Katowice 2023, IEM Rio 2023, ESL Pro League Season 17 and 18.

A top 4 finish at a couple of IEM events and a runners-up position at ESL Pro League Season 18, was the closest NAVI came to securing a big event win. NAVI's players could not bring their A-game in terms of mental due an ongoing geopolitical crisis.

With a string of cuts and additions to the roster, NAVI entered 2023 with a few new faces in the main team. s1mple's 1.12 HLTV rating at IEM Katowice 2023 and 1.24 HLTV ratings at ESL Pro League Season 17 and IEM Rio 2023 landed him three EVP honours in the beginning of the year.

A team that looked formidable a year ago, NAVI whiffed the biggest and most important event of 2023, the BLAST.tv Paris 2023 Major. A disappointing performance showed NAVI an early exit, even before making it to the playoffs.

"Valve has made the game so much better since the release, but there's still a lot of work to be done. Anti-cheat, boost bugs, tickrate, and more. It's not normal to experience the game one way playing at home with a ping of 20-30 and completely different playing at a LAN tournament with a ping of 5."
s1mple, via HLTV

Like many other pros, s1mple was unhappy with the state of CS2 upon release. He found himself amidst mixed public opinions after disclosing that he ghosted a Valve dev who approached him for constructive feedback. Shortly after, s1mple announced that he would be taking a break from the competition and is yet to make his professional CS2 debut.