Journey to the top. How to become an idol for millions of players

At one point or another all of us have ever wondered how to excel at our favorite game. Some will say practice and rigid discipline are essential, some, on the contrary, will argue that without endowment you can’t go far, and there are always those for whom top hardware is a guarantee of success. Everything is kind of right, but don’t forget that there is no clear-cut formula for succeeding in eSports. Albeit, having a PC that you share with your older brother and play experience in NAVI will increase your chances. But first things first.

Get inspired by the stories of three unique players and discover what brought them to the CS:GO ‘Walk of Fame’.

1. Valerii ‘b1t’ Vakhovskyi

As a child, under the supervision of his then mentor(who is also his older brother) he started playing CS 1.6, and then CS:GO.

Back then he had a laggy laptop, some old devices, and an inherited shabby mousepad with NAVI branding on it.

At the age of 15, ‘b1t’ already had about 3.000 Elo on FACEIT, which was pretty good for 2018. As one of the most promising players he joined NAVI Esports Camp. While others were chilling at the bootcamp, he spent all his spare time playing CS:GO.

[lyte id=’https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fLWbl0n-Gg’]First VLOG of NAVI Esports Camp (ENG SUBS available)

When it was time for NAVI Junior to partake in official matches, the excitement, typical of all freshmen, immediately kicked in: playing face to face with star players was mentally tough. However, his brother’s words saying to always impose your game on your opponent turned out to be the main driving force behind him.

NAVI Junior

‘b1t’ later fully replaced ‘flamie’ in the main NAVI roster, in which he proves his skills time after time.

2. Ilya ‘m0NESY’ Osipov

In this case we again have a brother behind the player, always ready to support and teach him everything he knows. From the age of 6 ‘m0NESY’ played CS 1.6, and after 3 years he moved to CS:GO. For a long time he had to share a PC with his big brother, until they bought a new one.

‘NEWballs’ team

It’s hard not to discern the unbelievable qualities of the player, as he was able to up ranks and levels on FACEIT at lightning speed. At the age of 14 he was playing for a Tier 3 team, earning his first prize money, and then he joined NAVI Junior, which gave the impulse to his fledgling career. Not least of all, he already had a spot in the FPL, which only advertised his conspicuous talent.

‘headtr1ck’ with ‘m0NESY’ at NAVI Junior bootcamp

A new chapter in the life of a teenage sensation comes at the age of 16, when G2 took him under their wing.

‘m0NESY’ at PGL Major Antwerp 2022 European RMR

3. Oleksandr ‘s1mple’ Kostyliev

It’s time to talk about a true legend of the CS:GO pro scene. Surprisingly the reason he got into gaming was… the only PC in the house and his elder brother, who taught the 5-year-old boy the basics of shooting.

During his school years, ‘s1mple’ was a frequent guest at LAN gaming centers, where local tournaments were arranged. He was earning his own money, which he gave to his mother as a gesture of gratitude for her supporting him.

His youth fell in the period of his first serious steps on the eSports scene and his initial fame, which had some repercussions. He was accused of toxicity, stealing in-game skins and cheating, which led him being banned from ESL events.

‘s1mple’ in ‘FlipSid3’ team

After the ban from ESL expired, ‘s1mple’ got an invite to Team Liquid, which wasn’t similar at all to the previous teams he managed to play for. Despite extra efforts, things didn’t go as smoothly as the player expected, for whom only first place matters.

His incredible desire to win and endurance gave him a chance to try himself as a Natus Vincere AWPer. His dream finally came true. From 2016 to the present, s1mple has been ranking in the HLTV Top 20 every year, winning MVP titles, prizes and conquering the hearts of fans all over the world.

‘s1mple’ with his well-deserved trophies