Donk (gamer)
Danil Kryshkovets, 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. He was named the HLTV player of the year in 2024, becoming one of only three players, along with coldzera and ZywOo, to be named the HLTV Player of the Year in their first full year as a professional player. Danil is the youngest-ever HLTV Player of the Year, winning the award at 17 years and 352 days old.
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.
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
In 2021, when he was 14, he was scouted by Aleksey "OverDrive" Biryukov, who recommended him to the Team Spirit academy. He played for Team Spirit's youth roster for two years. In 2023, Danil moved to the main Team Spirit roster. In the first tournament he played for them, CCT North Europe Series #6, they took first place. At their first LAN tournament, Dunav Party 2023, Spirit also took first place.
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. 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. He also tied the Big Event rating record with a 1.70 rating, previously achieved by NiKo in 2017, doing so across more maps. 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. Despite this, Danil finished the tournament with a rating of 1.35.
