Jake “Stewie2K” Yip really stepped in it this time. The former North American Counter-Strike star commented on Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyljev relatively benignly, calling him “the face of Russia” on stream. While normally this would be just a funny acute case of the average American’s geography knowledge, there is one glaring pain point: s1mple is Ukrainian, and Ukraine is still at war with an invading Russia.
Understandably, s1mple took umbrage with the clip, saying in a later tweet that Stewie2K probably wouldn’t be happy if he was called “The Face of North Korea.” The tweet has since been deleted.
S1mple has been outspoken about his desire for peace. The invasion began in February 2022, during IEM Katowice, and s1mple took the mic and spawned a moment that gained international headlines.
“All of us want peace, for Ukraine, and for the whole world,” s1mple said. “All of us are scared, and all of us need to show an example at this tournament. We need to stay together as a unit, with our fans, with our friends, and with everybody watching. And we all need to stay humans first.”
He also donated the equivalent of $33,000 to the Ukrainian army in 2022.
It’s fair to say s1mple took the off-the-cuff comment personally, at least on Twitter, and it’s hard to fault him for doing so. Ukrainian and Russian players have been placed in many difficult situations over the course of the war, and it has to be hard to hear such a tasteless reference. However, it’s pretty clear that it’s just a case of Stewie2K misspeaking on stream. Unintentional or intentional, the issue has flared up tempers across the Counter-Strike scene, with many taking to social media to comment on the matter.
Let’s just hope the two talk it over and some resolution is achieved.
