Boombl4 Names s1mple Best AWP Player, ZywOo Best With AK-47

Kirill "Boombl4" Mikhailov has picked Oleksandr "s1mple" Kostyliev as his standout AWP player and Mathieu "ZywOo" Herbaut as his choice for the AK-47, while also naming specialists for three other iconic Counter-Strike weapons.

The BETBOOM Team captain made his selections in a video published on the OFFSTAGE YouTube channel. Rather than producing an overall player ranking, Boombl4 matched individual professionals with the weapons he believes they use particularly well.

That distinction matters: the list is a personal weapon-by-weapon assessment, not an official ranking of the best CS2 players.

 

Quick Summary

Topic	Detail
Who made the selections?	Kirill "Boombl4" Mikhailov
Best AK-47 player	Mathieu "ZywOo" Herbaut
Best M4A1-S player	Danil "donk" Kryshkovets
Best AWP player	Oleksandr "s1mple" Kostyliev
Best Desert Eagle player	Jonas "Lekr0" Olofsson
Best USP-S player	Håvard "rain" Nygaard
Format	Personal weapon-by-weapon picks
Original video	OFFSTAGE YouTube channel
Report date	August 19, 2026

 

What Happened: Boombl4 Picks s1mple and ZywOo for Different Weapons

Boombl4 was asked to evaluate professional Counter-Strike players based on their ability with specific weapons.

According to Cybersport.ru's report on the OFFSTAGE video, the Russian in-game leader chose ZywOo for the AK-47 and s1mple for the AWP.

His complete selection covered five weapons:

Weapon	Boombl4's pick	Player
AK-47	ZywOo	Mathieu Herbaut
M4A1-S	donk	Danil Kryshkovets
AWP	s1mple	Oleksandr Kostyliev
Desert Eagle	Lekr0	Jonas Olofsson
USP-S	rain	Håvard Nygaard

The selections provide an interesting alternative to conventional player rankings. Instead of asking who is the strongest overall competitor, the exercise separates mechanical reputation by weapon.

No statistics were supplied alongside Boombl4's choices in the source report, so the picks should be understood as Boombl4's personal assessment rather than a data-based weapon ranking.

 

Boombl4 Picks s1mple as the Best AWP Player

Boombl4 selected s1mple as his standout AWP player, highlighting the weapon most closely associated with the Ukrainian superstar's career.

 

The selection of s1mple for the AWP has an obvious historical connection.

s1mple built much of his reputation as an elite hybrid and primary AWPer. His ability to combine AWP impact with strong rifle mechanics made him difficult to categorize purely as a conventional sniper.

There is also a direct connection between Boombl4 and s1mple. They spent years together in NAVI, giving Boombl4 first-hand experience of playing alongside the Ukrainian star.

That makes this choice particularly notable compared with an outside observer simply ranking professional AWPers.

Boombl4 has previously acknowledged the exceptional level of both s1mple and ZywOo with the sniper rifle. During his Cloud9 period, while discussing his own use of the AWP, he told HLTV that he understood he was "not s1mple or ZywOo."

His latest selection separates the two stars more clearly: s1mple gets Boombl4's AWP pick, while ZywOo takes the AK-47 slot.

 

Why ZywOo as the Best AK-47 Player Is Interesting

Despite ZywOo's reputation as an elite AWPer, Boombl4 chose the Vitality superstar for the AK-47 category.

 

ZywOo is strongly associated with the AWP, making Boombl4's decision to place him in the AK-47 category one of the most interesting elements of the list.

The French superstar has long demonstrated that his impact is not limited to sniper rifles. His ability to switch between the AWP and rifles has been an important part of his profile as a hybrid superstar.

The distinction has become especially relevant in recent discussions about ZywOo's weapon usage.

Earlier in 2026, s1mple explained why he had not initially included ZywOo among his three current AWP choices in an ESL segment. He pointed to ZywOo's frequent rifle usage as part of the reasoning.

Boombl4's selection therefore fits into a broader discussion around ZywOo: should he primarily be evaluated as an AWPer, or as an elite all-around player capable of producing superstar-level impact with rifles as well?

Boombl4's answer, at least for this weapon-specific exercise, strongly emphasizes the latter.

 

donk Gets Boombl4's M4A1-S Pick

Team Spirit star donk was Boombl4's choice for the M4A1-S, giving the young rifler his place in the five-player weapon lineup.

 

Boombl4 selected donk as his standout M4A1-S player.

The choice puts the Team Spirit star into a CT-side rifle category rather than the AK-47 slot occupied by ZywOo.

Without supporting statistics from the original segment, it would be misleading to treat the selection as proof that donk objectively leads professional CS2 with the M4A1-S. Instead, it reflects Boombl4's assessment of which player's weapon-specific performance stands out to him.

From a tactical perspective, the M4A1-S category is also different from the AWP discussion. Rifle effectiveness can depend heavily on positioning, first-bullet accuracy, spray control, trading and the defensive role a player occupies.

 

Lekr0 and rain Complete Boombl4's List

The two remaining selections bring veteran Counter-Strike names into the discussion.

Boombl4 chose Lekr0 for the Desert Eagle and rain for the USP-S.

Both choices underline the historical nature of the exercise. Boombl4 was not restricted to selecting only the newest generation of CS2 stars.

That gives the list more of an all-era Counter-Strike flavor rather than making it a strict ranking of players based exclusively on current form.

 

Background: Boombl4 Has Played With and Against Elite AWPers

Boombl4 has an unusual perspective on the AWP discussion because his career has included both playing alongside elite snipers and temporarily handling the weapon himself.

During his NAVI career, he competed alongside s1mple.

Later, after joining Cloud9, Boombl4 became an unconventional primary AWP option on multiple maps. In a November 2023 HLTV interview, he explained that he was the main AWPer on many maps despite not considering himself comparable to specialists such as s1mple or ZywOo.

Cloud9 later continued experimenting with that configuration. electroNic explained during the 2024 European RMR that using Boombl4 as the primary AWPer had worked better than the team's other tested options at the time.

That experience gives additional context to Boombl4's latest weapon selections: he is evaluating the AWP not only as an opposing IGL but also as someone who has personally experimented with the role.

 

Historical Context: s1mple vs ZywOo Goes Beyond the AWP

s1mple and ZywOo have been central to one of Counter-Strike's defining individual comparisons, with both capable of producing elite impact with the AWP and rifles.

 

The comparison between s1mple and ZywOo has been one of Counter-Strike's defining individual debates.

Both players became famous for elite AWP performance, but both have also demonstrated exceptional rifle mechanics.

That versatility complicates simple "best AWPer" comparisons.

s1mple himself has previously discussed being comfortable moving away from the primary AWP role. In 2019, he explained that playing as a rifler offered additional freedom and noted that he had always operated partly as a hybrid player.

ZywOo presents a similar problem for rigid role classifications. His ability to generate impact without depending exclusively on the AWP means weapon-specific comparisons can produce very different answers from overall player rankings.

Boombl4's list captures that distinction neatly: s1mple represents the AWP, while ZywOo represents the AK-47.

 

Timeline

Date	Development
2019	Boombl4 joins NAVI and begins playing alongside s1mple
2019	s1mple publicly discusses his ability and willingness to play as a rifler
2023	Boombl4 takes significant AWP responsibilities after joining Cloud9
November 2023	Boombl4 says he is the main AWPer on many Cloud9 maps while acknowledging the level of s1mple and ZywOo
2024	electroNic says Cloud9's Boombl4 AWP experiment worked better than other tested options
Early 2026	s1mple discusses current AWPers and highlights ZywOo's substantial rifle usage
August 19, 2026	Cybersport.ru reports Boombl4's five weapon-specific player selections

 

Key Details

Category	What We Know
Boombl4's current context	BETBOOM Team captain
AWP selection	s1mple
AK-47 selection	ZywOo
CT rifle selection	donk with M4A1-S
Pistol selections	Lekr0 with Desert Eagle; rain with USP-S
Official statistical ranking?	No
Based on supplied weapon statistics?	No statistics were provided in the source report
Nature of the list	Personal assessment
Original content platform	OFFSTAGE YouTube channel

 

Tactical Impact: Why Weapon-Specific Rankings Tell a Different Story

Weapon rankings should not automatically be interpreted as overall player rankings.

An AWPer typically interacts with the economy, positioning and opening engagements differently from a rifler. The weapon's cost and one-shot potential can shape how a team allocates resources and constructs rounds.

An AK-47 player operates under different conditions. Entry routes, trading patterns, spray transfers and headshot potential can all influence perceived rifle skill.

Pistol categories are even more situational.

For that reason, Boombl4 choosing s1mple for the AWP and ZywOo for the AK-47 does not necessarily mean he ranks one above the other overall. It means he associates each player with a different peak weapon category.

 

Why Boombl4's Picks Matter

The list has no direct competitive consequences. It does not change tournament seeding, Valve Regional Standings or roster status.

Its value comes from perspective.

Boombl4 has competed at the highest level of Counter-Strike, played directly alongside s1mple and spent part of his own career experimenting with AWP responsibilities.

His choices also connect multiple generations of elite players.

s1mple and Lekr0 represent established Counter-Strike names, rain remains one of the scene's best-known veterans, while ZywOo and donk represent different stages of the modern superstar era.

The result is less a conventional ranking than a snapshot of how an experienced IGL associates elite mechanics with Counter-Strike's most recognizable weapons.

 

Impact Analysis

Competitive impact: None directly. Boombl4's selections are opinions and do not affect tournament results, rankings or roster decisions.

Player narrative: The choices reinforce s1mple's historical association with the AWP while emphasizing ZywOo's versatility beyond the sniper role.

Tactical relevance: The discussion illustrates why "best player" and "best player with a specific weapon" are separate questions.

Historical relevance: Including Lekr0 and rain alongside s1mple, ZywOo and donk connects different generations of professional Counter-Strike.

VRS/ranking impact: None reported.

 

What Changes Now?

Nothing changes competitively as a direct result of Boombl4's comments.

There is no roster announcement, tournament ruling or role change attached to the story.

Instead, the selections add another perspective to long-running discussions around s1mple, ZywOo and weapon specialization in professional Counter-Strike.

For archival purposes, the comments are particularly useful as a record of how Boombl4 evaluates individual weapon mastery in 2026.

 

What to Watch Next

Future interviews with Boombl4 could reveal whether his selections change as CS2's competitive landscape develops.

ZywOo's balance between AWP and rifle usage is especially worth following because it affects how comparisons with dedicated AWPers are framed.

s1mple's performances and weapon usage are similarly relevant when evaluating his place against the newer generation of elite snipers.

Boombl4's own perspective may also evolve as he continues competing against players such as ZywOo and donk.

 

FAQ

Who did Boombl4 name as the best AWP player?

Boombl4 selected s1mple for the AWP in his weapon-by-weapon player picks, according to Cybersport.ru's report on an OFFSTAGE video.

Who did Boombl4 choose as the best AK-47 player?

He selected ZywOo for the AK-47.

Did Boombl4 say ZywOo is worse than s1mple overall?

No. The reported segment assigned players to specific weapons. It should not be interpreted as an overall ranking unless Boombl4 explicitly makes such a comparison.

Who else was included in Boombl4's list?

Boombl4 picked donk for the M4A1-S, Lekr0 for the Desert Eagle and rain for the USP-S.

Is Boombl4's list based on official CS2 statistics?

No supporting statistical methodology was provided in the source report. The selections should therefore be treated as Boombl4's personal opinions.