Esports in Ukraine: 5 fun facts that will surprise you

1. Growing esports scene in Ukraine

Over the past decade, Ukraine has seen an extraordinary rise in its esports. Starting from small computer clubs founded by passionate gamers around the country and small-scale events and city tournaments playing Counter-Strike, StarCraft, NFS, and Warcraft, Ukrainian esports evolved into a major industry with a national team, players, and contests, attracting global attention and investments.

After dedicated esports arenas, like Kyiv Cybersport Arena and many other analogs, were established nationwide, esports in Ukraine could fully develop, providing opportunities to young gamers, coaches, and content creators. It could also become commercially successful, hosting esports events with packed arenas and high online viewership. For instance, the Kyiv Major 2017, a professional Dota 2 esports tournament, gathered international teams in the Ukrainian capital to compete for $3 million in prizes and had 842,585 online viewers.

Esports in Ukraine: Gamers competing at Kyiv Cybersport Arena during StarSeries i-League in 2018. Photo: PUBG

Esports received support from the Ukrainian government, which officially recognized it as a sport in 2020. "Ukraine has a strong esports culture and talented players. Our teams regularly win various tournaments around the world," said Oleksandr Borniakov, the deputy digital minister, commenting on the authorities' decision to embrace esports. "This industry has long become a real business, bringing many benefits and opportunities both locally and globally."

2. Ukraine's top-tier gaming talent

Esports in Ukraine: NAVI, an esports team from Ukraine, won the Esports World Cup 2024 on July 22. Photo: HLTV

As one of Europe's leading esports hubs, Ukraine can showcase some of the world's finest and most talented players and teams. Legendary teams from Ukraine, like Natus Vincere (NAVI), B8, and Monte, with accomplished Ukrainian esports players, have achieved international praise, winning numerous championships and setting records. NAVI, for example, which has a history of playing games like Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS) and Dota 2, recently won the Esports World Cup 2024 in Saudi Arabia, defeating a successful European team, G2, in the final, and received $400,000. Another outstanding esports team, Monte, broke into the world's top 10 teams in six months since its founding and has held fourth in the global ranking among clubs with Ukrainian roots. 

Another significant victory for Ukrainian esports occurred in November 2024, when the esports team founded by renowned Ukrainian footballer Oleksandr Zinchenko defeated two highly acclaimed Russian teams to qualify for the year's main tournament, the Counter-Strike Shanghai Major. They became the first team with an entirely Ukrainian squad to qualify for a competition of this caliber.

Ukraine is home to many fantastic esports players, like Danylo "Dendi" Ishutin, a Dota 2 prodigy and founder of the B8 esports team, and Oleksandr "s1mple" Kostyliev, a top-ranked Ukrainian esports player for NAVI, who is considered to be one of the best players in Counter-Strike history. Others who inspire a new generation of gamers in Ukraine include Valerii "B1t" Vakhovskyi, Viktor "sdy" Orudzhev, and many more.

3. Esports events and tournaments in Ukraine

Esports in Ukraine: Kyiv hosted one of the most popular Dota 2 tournaments, WePlay AniMajor, in 2021. Photo: WePlay Holding

Over the years, Ukraine has hosted high-profile esports events and tournaments, like the Kyiv Major 2017 and WePlay AniMajor, which brought top teams and Dota 2 players worldwide to compete for high prize pools. Ukrainian cities like Kyiv and Lviv also hold competitions by brands, gaming companies, and organizers, like the ASUS Republic of Games, StarLadder, Lenovo, and Softserve.

With offices in all Ukrainian regions, the Ukrainian Esports Federation (UESF) organizes its contests to find fresh talent and support and encourage rising esports players to participate in bigger competitions. The organization has held 320 tournaments in Ukraine and worldwide, involving local businesses and sponsors, and developed and trained Ukrainian esports teams. Another organization, the Ukrainian Professional Esports Association (UPEA), hosts the UPEA Ukrainian Cup and Legion Ukrainian Championships, inviting local gamers — professionals, students, and school kids, players of Dota 2, CS2, and Global Offensive — to fight for money and a chance to be noticed by leading esports teams in Ukraine. 

Since Russia unleashed its full-scale war against Ukraine, hosting offline esports events with live audiences has been put on hold. The war has severely impacted the industry, and finding local funding is difficult as resources are prioritized for military aid. Many Ukrainian companies, like WePlay Studios, have come up with solutions to help Ukrainian esports and sought international opportunities, including opening an esports arena in Los Angeles for Ukrainian esports players.

4. Ukraine is a game development hub

Esports in Ukraine: A still from the video game S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl, developed by Ukrainian studio GSC Game World. Photo: GSC Game World

Ukraine is not just a hotspot for esports players but also a powerful hub for game development. Ukraine's gaming industry includes at least 17 game companies, which have developed 201 games. Renowned studios like GSC Game World created the famous "S.T.A.L.K.E.R." series. Frogwares is known for its Sherlock Holmes games, and 4A Games created one of the most popular shooters, Metro 2033.

Ukrainian game developers are globally recognized for their competence and creativity, so major tech giants, like Samsung and Travian Games, and smaller gaming companies have opened development centers in Ukraine. Ukrainian teams made a significant contribution to some of the most famous games, like World of Tanks/World of Warplanes, Assassin's Creed, Star Wars Galaxies, and Warface.

5. Esports is a popular career path

Esports in Ukraine: Oleksandr "s1mple" Kostyliev won the Esports PC Player of the Year in 2021. Photo: PGL

Esports is one of the most exciting and sought-after careers among young Ukrainians. According to UESF, there are 4 million gamers in Ukraine, and it's unsurprising because Ukrainian esports players are financially successful. According to the Esports Earnings, 1,586 Ukrainian gamers have been awarded $36,396,080.04 in prize money across 4,819 tournaments. Illia "Yatoro" Muliarchuk is the highest-earning Ukrainian player, who won $5,545,553.55 in prize money from playing in Dota 2 tournaments. 

Organizations like UESF and UPEA support the interest by offering courses and programs on esports and its various facets, such as gaming, management, game design, and digital media. They also provide players with the needed backing, seek out sponsors, and provide platforms for them to shine. Ukrainian universities don't lag: the National University of Physical Education and Sports of Ukraine has had the Department of eSports and Information Technologies since 2019, teaching master's and bachelor's degrees in "Esports."