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S1mple or ZywOo? The Battle of CSGO’s generational talents

byAva Thompson-Powell
S1mple ZywOo CSGO
As two powerhouses continue to dominate the upper rankings of the CSGO competitive scene, fans are undoubtedly spoiled by such a duo. But this begs the question – who’s the best? 
The battle of Oleksandr ‘s1mple’ Kostyliev and Mathieu ‘ZywOo’ Herbaut is akin to Counter-Strike’s version of Lionel Messi vs Cristiano Ronaldo, and we may never see two people of such a high caliber playing CSGO at this level at the same time ever again. Taking the Counter-Strike scene by storm, they undoubtedly stand head and shoulders above everyone else. The Ukrainian powerhouse, S1mple, tears it up for Natus Vincere, and the French phenom, ZywOo, does the same for Team Vitality. Nicolai ‘dev1ce’ Reedtz believes that while the pair are undoubtedly naturally gifted, they handle and maintain that talent differently.
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In 2020, however, this age-old debate only got more contentious, starting with Na’Vi’s S1mple looking unbeatable at IEM Katowice; the only LAN-based tournament of the year. As the landscape of competitive CSGO changed — did the lack of LAN tournaments in 2020 keep the team from truly reaching the pinnacle? In November 2020, the stage was set to pit the stars against one another at IEM Beijing in a standoff for the ages – Vitality’s ZywOo stepped into the spotlight once more, beating out s1mple for the top spot on the HLTV Top 20 rankings. His credentials as top dog further bolstered by Vitality claiming the crown not just here, but also at BLAST Fall Finals where they dispatched of Na’Vi as well. That being said, though, there is so much more to the pair’s iconic history – so check out the video above to find out everything you need to make your decision on who’s top dog.

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