Ukrainian publication claims s1mple earns $130,000 per month at BC.Game, is CS2's highest-paid player

According to a fairly audacious claim by Serhii Taran of Ukrainian esports website Players.com.ua, Oleksandr "s1mple" Kostyliev is allegedly being paid $130,000 per month by BC.Game, with the publication claiming s1mple is therefore the highest paid player in Counter-Strike 2. This claim, which must be taken with a grain of salt, was followed by Players.com.ua also claiming that Mathieu "ZywOo" Herbaut is receiving a salary of $100,000 per month from Vitality.

The alleged disparity between the salary of s1mple, who only recently returned from inactivity, and that of French superstar ZywOo is notable as it would suggest BC.Game are willing to shell out serious money in their efforts to secure talent for their Counter-Strike 2 program. In line with this, Players.com.ua also claimed that BC.Game paid a princely sum of $500,000 to buy out s1mple form his contract with NAVI, which was set to expire at the end of 2025.

As always, it is important to reiterate that these claims should be taken with a grain of salt as salary and buyout estimates are frequently tossed around the CS community while rarely being confirmed in any meaningful way.

However, with gambling companies being one of the few businesses willing to make significant investments into Counter-Strike 2 esports at the moment, it is within the realm of possibility that the figures are in line with Players.com.ua's claims especially with the massive boost s1mple provides to BC.Game's brand.