On July 28, Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev, moved from the NAVI bench to the BC.Game roster. Less than two months later, and BC.Game is celebrating its first tournament win with s1mple after a beautiful comeback at ESL Challenger League (ECL) Season 50 Europe Cup #2.
After a handful of initial tournaments, including a grand final appearance at Exort The Proving Grounds Season 3, where BC.Game suffered a loss in double overtime, it was only a matter of time before s1mple got a taste of victory.
A star-studded performance from s1mple. Image Credit: BC.Game
Here’s how BC.Game picked up their first tournament win with s1mple, including the legendary Ukrainian AWPer’s undeniable impact in the grand final.
BC.Game takes revenge on Alliance at ECL S50 Cup #2
With s1mple as the spearhead of their attack, BC.Game barreled through most of the 32-team, double-elimination playoffs bracket.
In the opening match, BC.Game took out Sashi with a 2-0 score (13-10 on Dust2, 13-10 on Nuke), and beat OG with a strong 2-0 showing (13-7 on Mirage, 13-10 on Ancient).
ESC Gaming gave BC.Game a run for their money, but s1mple put up a monstrous performance, topping the scoreboard with a 1.50 rating across three maps to bring home the 2-1 win (13-8 on Mirage, 11-13 on Ancient, and 16-14 on Dust2).
s1mple demolished ESC Gaming. Image Credit: BC.Game
In the upper bracket final, BC.Game suffered their first loss of the tournament. Alliance humiliated BC.Game with a clean 2-0 sweep (13-3 on Dust2, 13-6 on Mirage). Recovering quickly, BC.Game took ESC Gaming to the cleaners with a decisive 2-0 (13-6 on Train, 13-7 on Mirage) in the lower bracket final.
Alliance opened the best-of-three grand final with a 13-8 win on Ancient, BC.Game’s map pick. With his big-match temperament and years of experience on full display, s1mple took charge of Inferno with a chart-topping performance (1.43 rating) to propel BC.Game to a 13-8 win when it mattered most, forcing a third and deciding map.
On Dust2, Alliance ran out of steam. BC.Game took an 8-4 lead on the T side, and finished up proceedings with a 13-6 win, thereby completing the reverse-sweep comeback to win ECL Season 50 Europe Cup #2.
With a 1.43 rating across 14 maps played at the ECL Season 50 Europe Cup #2, s1mple was by far the highest-rated player, asserting his dominance throughout the event.
For the win, BC.Game earns $12,000, and more importantly, a spot in the ECL Season 50 Europe Finals (November 18 to 20), where they’ll compete against three other teams for a place at Stage 1 of ESL Pro League Season 23.