IEM Krakow yielded a long-awaited clash between BC.Game’s Oleksandr ‘s1mple’ Kostyliev and Vitality’s Mathieu ‘ZywOo’ Herbaut this weekend. It was the first time in almost three years that the pair had met on the competitive stage, and it ended with s1mple’s squad being forced unceremoniously into the lower bracket at IEM Krakow.
It was almost a predictable outcome, and it comes after s1mple declared ZywOo as being the closest Counter-Strike pro player to his own ‘prime’ status, back in the day.
Into The Lower Run for BC.Game
BC.Game opened the series against Vitality with the upper hand, but quickly faltered, with Vitality shutting the door on the team in rapid fashion. The ZywOo-led squad dropped just one round before closing out the map in the second half, going on to eliminate BCG from the upper bracket with a decisive 13-5 finish.
Both ZywOo and s1mple held their own, with the former edging out the latter in the numbers, but it’s a team game at the end of the day, and Vitality was the better unit on stage.
Before IEM Krakow, the two superstar competitors hadn’t met since Gamers8 in 2023, hosted in Saudi Arabia. The event has long since been rebranded as the Esports World Cup, but it was the last time that the two gamers shared a stage on opposing sides of the table.
Despite the loss, BC.Game’s journey in Krakow is far from over. They’re now in the lower bracket of their group, and while they have to focus squarely on survival, they have a chance to produce a huge upset over FaZe Clan tomorrow, February 2nd. The squad, featuring the talents of broky, karrigan, frozen, jcobb, and Twistzz, was also pushed into the lower run, but by a dominant 3DMAX side.
What are your expectations for BC.Game at IEM Krakow? Let us know on the Insider Gaming Discord server.
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Grant has been gaming for 30+ years and in the industry for 10+. You'll probably find him playing a post-apocalyptic game or an extraction shooter somewhere.
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