celebrities CSGO Streamer and pro esports player Aleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev has donated one million Ukrainian hryvnia (or just over $33,000 USD) to the Ukrainian army, according to a post he made Instagram stories. This comes shortly after s1mple made an emotional plea for unity during the Intel Extreme Masters Katowice tournament over the weekend.
Russia invaded Ukraine last week. Russian forces have launched a “special military operation” in Ukraine on the orders of President Vladimir Putin, which has happened Killed hundreds of innocents and displaced thousands while Russia moves in to occupy different parts of the independent nation. This devastating news has undoubtedly rocked s1mple, a Ukrainian player for the popular first-person shooter Counter Strike Global Offensive
Now the esports player is putting his money where his mouth is.
S1mple spent much of last weekend at IEM Katowicean annual tournament in Poland that attracts tons of esports teams for games like CSGO and League of Legends Compete for a massive $1 million prize pool. S1mple and his team at Natus Vincere were sadly kicked out of the tournament by G2 Esports on February 25th, but before leaving the stage, he gave a speech calling for “peace to Ukraine and the whole world”.
“We’re all]scared, and we all need to show it [an] example [at] this tournament for [the] whole world,” said s1mple. “We have to stay together as a unit, because of our fans, because of our friends, because of everyone who will be watching this tournament. We must all remain human first.”
A few days later, Ukrainian Olympic and NBA broadcaster Vitalii Volochai reported that s1mple had donated $33,265 to the Ukrainian army, although s1mple has yet to say anything publicly.
It is noteworthy that while many individuals and organizations, including cyberpunk 2077 Manufacturer CD Project Red, donate to the Ukrainian Red Cross or other humanitarian organizations, s1mple has chosen to donate money to the Ukrainian military. Perhaps, since he is stationed in Kyiv, his main concern is to repel the invaders, hoping to keep his city, country and people as safe as possible.
igamesnews asked s1mple for a comment.
While this may be his most surprising donation to date, this isn’t the first time s1mple has willingly parted with money. Already in November 2018 he donated all the money he earned from the FACEIT Pro League tournament to the men’s health charity MovemberUK. The grand total was never disclosed, but the event featured a weekly prize offer of $5,200.
