Twitch may be losing another popular streamer.
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) player Oleksandr ‘s1mple’ Kostyliev has been suspended from the platform for a second time. And this may be the last straw, according to the pro gamer.
Twitch suspended him for undisclosed reasons, but by the statement in s1mple’s tweet, it was for some language he used during a stream. This has been a bit of a theme with s1mple and his relationship with Twitch.
In the first tweet, the CS:GO player mentioned “another ban.”
His first time receiving a Twitch ban was back in August of 2019 when he used a homophobic slur during a match that was being live-streamed. It was during a FaceIt Pro League (FPL) game, and the words were directed in a jokingly matter towards his teammate Boombl4.
However, Twitch has a zero-tolerance policy with speech like, no matter the context.
So, after receiving a second ban for pretty much the same thing, it looks like s1mple has had it with the streaming platform. He has claimed that he is ready to end his partnership with Twitch.
Twitch hasn’t made any public response about the situation or where they stand with s1mple.
At the point, it is unclear if this is a bluff by s1mple to gain some leverage or if he will, in fact, packs his bags and head to a different platform.
There hasn’t been a shortage of big names leaving Twitch these last few months. Professional gamers and extremely popular streamers like Ninja, Shroud, King Gothalion, CouRage, and Disguised Toast have all left Twitch recently.
They all found new homes with Twitch’s competitors, Microsoft Mixer, YouTube Live, and Facebook Gaming. Now, none of these players had the same reason as s1mple for leaving, but they left, nonetheless.
Will this fact make Twitch want to keep s1mple on their platform, or is the negative press from his comments enough for the platform to want to part ways?
S1mple’s skill in CS:GO is highly respected in the community. He is a professional gamer with the Ukrainian Natus Vincere (NaVi) esports organization. He should be able to find another platform with little hassle.
However, there is a chance he may receive a warning from the other tech giants when he joins them. If he goes to another platform, he will be dealing with either Microsoft, Google, or Facebook. It isn’t a guarantee that he will be able to get away with whatever he wants to say on these platforms either.
