The Esports Federation of Ukraine (UESF) on June 19 added Oleksandr "s1mple" Kostylyev to its official ban list. The reason is participation in official matches in one team with Russians. The disqualification is effective until June 30, 2027.
Along with s1mple, 32 other Ukrainian esports players were added to the ban list — all for similar violations. On the same day, UESF published a new Disciplinary Responsibility Policy, and the list became the first public demonstration that the rules are not merely declarative.
Who and why
In 2025, Kostylyev returned from hiatus and signed a contract with BC Game Esports. In the fall, Russian Denis "electroNic" Sharipov joined the team — s1mple's former teammate from NaVi. Their acquaintance was not neutral: in January 2026, after winning a tournament in Krakow, Kostylyev publicly shook electroNic's hand. s1mple was wearing a uniform with a blue-and-yellow patch, electroNic — with the Russian tricolor. The photo instantly spread on social media and sparked a wave of criticism.
"Participation in official matches in one team with Russians" — that is exactly how UESF formulates the grounds for disqualification in its ban list.
Esports Federation of Ukraine, ban list from June 19, 2026
What the ban means in practice
- Kostylyev will not be able to compete in tournaments where UESF is the organizer, partner, or provides support.
- He is excluded from the Ukrainian national team at international competitions.
- Most major international tournaments — IEM, Major — are not subject to the ban. BC Game continues to compete on the world stage without restrictions.
In other words, for the everyday career of s1mple — one of the most decorated players in Counter-Strike history — the sanction changes almost nothing. But for UESF, this is a precedent: the federation has for the first time publicly punished a player with such prominence and did not make an exception for him.
A line that did not exist
Before this decision, the UESF question of "whether you can play with Russians on the same team" remained in a gray zone — without clear sanctions, only with public pressure. Now the federation has set a specific cutoff date: participation in official matches after July 1, 2025 is considered a violation. All matches recorded on HLTV, Liquipedia, or VLR serve as evidence.
The question that remains open: if disqualification does not affect international career — is this a punishment for the player or a signal to major tournament organizers to introduce similar rules themselves?
