Danil Kryshkovets,[b] better known by his nickname donk, is a Russian professional Counter-Strike 2 player for Team Spirit who is widely recognized for his aggressive playstyle.[1][failed verification] He was named the HLTV player of the year in 2024, the first player to ever do so in their rookie year.[2]
Born on January 25, 2007, in Tomsk, Danil started playing Counter-Strike at the age of four when his brother introduced him to the game. Two years later, they switched to a new version, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. He devoted a lot of time to developing his skills, and at the age of 14 he was able to get into the European FPL-C.[3]
Career
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
In 2021, when he was 14, he was noticed by OverDrive, who recommended him to the Team Spirit academy. He played for Team Spirit's youth roster for two years.[3]
In 2023, Danil moved to the main Team Spirit roster.[4] In the first tournament he played for them, CCT North Europe Series #6, they took first place.[5] At their first LAN tournament, Dunav Party 2023, Spirit also took first place.[6]
Counter-Strike 2
He received his first MVP title from HLTV for winning BetBoom Dacha Dubai 2023, ending his run with an HLTV rating of 1.31, making him the second youngest player in history to receive an HLTV MVP award.[7] After Spirit won the IEM Katowice 2024 tournament, Danil was named the MVP and became the youngest player to be named an HLTV MVP at a "Big Event".[8][9]
At his first Major, PGL Copenhagen 2024, Team Spirit advanced to the playoffs. In the first match of the playoffs, they lost the series to FaZe Clan.[10] Despite this, Danil finished the tournament with a rating of 1.35.
After the Major, at BetBoom Dacha Belgrade 2024, donk was awarded the MVP despite his team only taking second place.[11] Spirit took first place in the final tournament of the season, the BLAST Premier Spring Final 2024, with Danil being the MVP of the championship.[12] This tournament gave Spirit the first place in both Valve and HLTV team ratings.[13]
Team Spirit won the Perfect World Shanghai Major, with Danil being awarded the MVP, making him the youngest HLTV MVP at a Major.[14][15][16]
Following this performance, Danil was nominated for four individual awards at the HLTV Awards 2024: Rookie of the Year, Opener of the Year, Highlight of the Year, and Player of the Year. Danil won all four awards.[17]
In 2025, Danil and Team Spirit claimed a win at the first Tier 1 event of the year, BLAST Bounty Season 1 Finals, earning Danil his 7th career HLTV MVP.[18] Team Spirit struggled to compete against an increasingly dominant Team Vitality in the first half of the year, but were able to score a win at PGL Astana 2025, a Tier 1 tournament which Team Vitality did not attend.[19] This earned Danil yet another HLTV MVP.[20]
After a getting stopped in the playoffs of the BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025 by MOUZ,[citation needed] Team Spirit would bounce back to win IEM Cologne 2025, taking down rivals MOUZ 3-0 in the grand finals, earning Danil his ninth career HLTV MVP.[21][22] Danil and Team Spirit followed up their IEM Cologne run with a back to back tournament win, this time defending their title as reigning BLAST Bounty champions against The MongolZ at BLAST Bounty Season 2 Finals. This performance earned Danil his tenth career HLTV MVP, tying GeT_RiGhT's record of most HLTV MVPs as a rifler.[23][24]
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