The IEM Krakow tournament finally brought Oleksandr ‘s1mple’ Kostyliev of BC.Game face-to-face with Mathieu ‘ZywOo’ Herbaut of Vitality this weekend. After nearly three years, the highly anticipated matchup ended with s1mple’s team being unexpectedly sent to the lower bracket of the competition.
Honestly, it felt like this was going to happen – it wasn’t a huge surprise. It’s interesting because s1mple had previously said ZywOo was the player who reminded him most of himself when he was at his absolute best, so maybe it was always on the cards.
Into The Lower Run for BC.Game
BC.Game started strong against Vitality, but Vitality quickly took control of the match. Led by ZywOo, they only lost a single round before finishing the map with a dominant performance in the second half, ultimately defeating BC.Game 13-5 and knocking them out of the upper bracket.
Both ZywOo and s1mple played exceptionally well, though ZywOo’s statistics were slightly better. Ultimately, Counter-Strike is a team sport, and Vitality performed as a stronger team overall.
Prior to the IEM Krakow tournament, the two top players hadn’t faced off since competing at Gamers8 in Saudi Arabia in 2023. That event is now known as the Esports World Cup, and it marked the last time they played against each other in a competitive match.
Even though BC.Game lost their match in Krakow, they’re still in the competition. They’ve moved into the lower bracket and will need to win to stay alive. They have a tough challenge tomorrow, February 2nd, as they’ll face FaZe Clan, a strong team with players like broky, karrigan, frozen, jcobb, and Twistzz. FaZe Clan also lost their previous match, defeated by a powerful 3DMAX team, and now finds itself in the lower bracket as well.
Grant Taylor-Hill
Grant first fell in love with gaming in 1996 on the Amstrad CPC. Today, he’s a skilled gamer across many platforms, with a strong passion for both video games and competitive esports.
More from Grant Taylor-Hill
Level Up Your Gaming News
App Store
Google Play
Read More
- Gold Rate Forecast
- How to Unlock the Mines in Cookie Run: Kingdom
- Gears of War: E-Day Returning Weapon Wish List
- Jujutsu: Zero Codes (December 2025)
- Most Underrated Loot Spots On Dam Battlegrounds In ARC Raiders
- The Saddest Deaths In Demon Slayer
- How to Find & Evolve Cleffa in Pokemon Legends Z-A
- Respawn Confirms Star Wars Jedi 3 is Still Alive!
- FromSoftware’s Duskbloods: The Bloodborne Sequel We Never Knew We Needed
- Bitcoin Frenzy: The Presales That Will Make You Richer Than Your Ex’s New Partner! 💸
2026-02-01 12:18