Donk (Danil Kryshkovets) Introduction: Who He Is, Why He Is Popular, and His CS Career
Donk is from Tomsk.
Who is Donk
Donk is Team Spirit's rifler and number one star, and one of the top players in the world. He was ranked Top 1 by HLTV in 2024 and second in 2025.
He is a key player for Spirit. In his first season on the top stage, he broke many records. For example, after winning the Shanghai Major, he became the youngest Major champion and the youngest Major MVP winner. At the same Major, he also set the record of 4 ACEs in a single Major.
Quick Info
Real Name: Danil Kryshkovets (Danil Kryshkovets)
Nickname: Donk
Date of Birth: January 25, 2007
Place of Birth: Tomsk, Russia
Nationality: Russia
Height: 166 cm
Reason for fame: Won IEM Katowice and the Major in his debut season in the top-tier scene, and was named Top 1 at the end of the year.
Donk's Childhood
Donk grew up in Tomsk, mainly raised by his grandparents. His grandfather drove a "GAZ" truck, hauling goods for a living.
Donk once said: "It was mostly my grandmother who raised me, but I still learned a lot from my grandfather. He is my hero. No matter how hard it was or how much he wanted to rest, he understood that he had to work. To me, that is truly remarkable. I hope that in the future I can be such a reliable person for my own family."
After signing his first contract, he vowed to himself that one day his grandma and grandpa would no longer have to work. Later, that indeed came true.
Donk started playing CS at a very early age, when he was four years old. High latency did not hold back his progress, and just a year later, he was inspired to become an esports player. He pursued this dream with determination, for example by competing in city tournaments, often with teammates several years older than him. He soon became a well-known local star: a year before officially starting his full career, he was already among the top five players in Tomsk.
Once, he received a haircut coupon for winning.
One of his earliest teammates, Kirill Nalimov, recalled: "When we played together offline, I remember we were sitting and resting, and he was watching Happy Ball on his computer. I said, 'What are you doing?' He said, 'This is how I recharge.'"
Beginning of Esports Career
His full professional career began in 2021, when Donk signed with Spirit. At the time, Spirit's main team wasn't even top three in the region, and Donk joined the academy team, initially only playing in select events until securing his full spot on the second team that December. At first, the young player struggled to adapt, but after a difficult start, he began posting high numbers with increasing frequency.
In 2022, Donk competed in academy tournaments, posting a 1.22 Rating. Such numbers would continue to appear: a Rating of 1 represents an average player, above 1.15 is already the level of a skilled player, and above 1.25 can only be achieved by top stars.
In the summer of 2023, Donk was promoted to Spirit's main roster. For the rest of the season, the team mainly competed in second-tier events, but qualified for IEM Katowice 2024 — the most important CS event outside the Major. With sh1ro joining, Spirit won the title as underdogs, with Donk finishing the event with a 1.70 rating, almost a world record. Many more successful events followed, but the most important was the Shanghai Major at the end of the year.
Beat Big Cousin to tears on debut (Katowice)
There, Donk once again delivered a stunning performance with a 1.49 rating, the second-highest in history.
Spirit won the tournament, the third Major title in Eastern European history. Danil became not only the youngest Major champion, but also the youngest Major MVP. From internet cafes in Tomsk to the world's best player in just a few years.
Why is Danil Kryshkovets popular
99% of team structures in CS are built around the sniper. The sniper uses the powerful AWP, which can take out any opponent with a single shot, but requires constant protection. Therefore, the other players will fully support the sniper: giving him the most advantageous positions on the map and preventing him from being rushed at close range.
If you have played CS or watched tournaments over the past decade, you must know Sasha s1mple. The player who has been highly hyped in recent years is Ilya m0NESY. The best team in history is Denmark's Astralis, whose star is device. The world's best player before Donk emerged was Frenchman ZywOo. Do you know what they have in common? They are all snipers.
But Donk uses a regular rifle. Of course, there are stars among riflers too: Bosnian NiKo has been in the world's top five for years, and for a long time electronic was the best among Russian players. But even they almost always played around supporting an even bigger star sniper. Donk, however, is the first undisputed best player in the world in a decade, and he doesn't use the AWP at all.
Almost every round—win or lose—he gets at least one kill. Keep in mind that in some rounds he only has a pistol against fully equipped opponents. In some rounds he has to be the first to rush into a group of opponents. Even in such situations, Donk can still find kills. Furthermore, he even has a 1v5 victory—an incredible achievement that many players don't have.
Donk changed the game and quickly became an idol for the younger generation. OverDrive, the scout who discovered Donk, once said: “Donk is the first rifler to completely transform the Counter-Strike scene and push snipers out of the race for best player. I don't remember a time when a rifler dominated matches and the entire structure was built around him. That is already a huge advantage over ZywOo and m0NESY. But I want to point out that Donk's success on the server is largely thanks to the whole of Team Spirit.”
Although he often slips up, he is indeed donk's mentor
Due to his rapid rise and unique style, Donk quickly became famous. His Telegram channel has over 290,000 subscribers.
Donk has already pulled off two 1v5 clutches in top-tier tournaments, which is a lot for such a short career. The first came against Heroic at the Shanghai Major.
The second time was against Vitality at BLAST Rivals Fall 2025.
This moment was voted the 2025 Highlight of the Year. Ironically, Vitality — the very team Danil brutally dismantled in the video — went on to become Team of the Year that year.
Donk's Personal Life
Donk is dating Suns1de. She previously played professionally for Team Spirit's women's roster and now streams occasionally.
Donk confirmed his relationship in an interview with "Vpiska":
“We started dating in 2025. I didn't want her to be caught up in my media life. I was worried it would have a negative impact on her life. When our relationship started to get hyped up, she wasn't ready. We never intended to go public in any way.”
Donk now
Donk still plays for Team Spirit and is the team's key player. In addition, he continues to compete with Vitality's ZywOo for the title of world's best player: their rivalry is currently the main rivalry in CS. In the final 2025 rankings, ZywOo was named the best, although many are convinced the award should have gone to Donk.
The 2026 situation could repeat itself — the Frenchman has already won more tournaments than Spirit's star rifler. On the other hand, "the Dragons" have been more consistent lately, which means Danil still has a chance.
Currently, the only major trophy missing from Donk's collection is the Grand Slam — the gold bars awarded for winning consecutive ESL events. He has already won all the other honors — the Major, IEM Katowice, and IEM Cologne.
Fun Facts About Donk
Like many CS players, Danil also used the XANTARESPEEK team tag back then;
Despite gaming taking up a lot of time, Donk still does well academically, mostly getting fours and fives;
He once said that if esports didn't work out, he would become a psychologist;
Danil uses No. 25. He wanted to choose No. 24, but that number was unavailable;
At the end of 2022, when sh1ro was named to the Player of the Year list, he picked Donk as the "Star of Tomorrow." A year later, they started playing together and winning championships.
Danil's VK social media page looks like this: