Donk: "We didn't face Vitality, and we need to beat them to become the best team in the world"

Donk: "We didn't face Vitality, and we need to beat them to become the best team in the world"

Danil “donk” Kryshkovets, the 18-year-old phenom from Team Spirit, continues his meteoric rise, earning his 10th HLTV MVP at BLAST Bounty Season 2 in Malta, tying GeT_RiGhT’s record for most MVPs by a rifler.

While seven of those MVPs came at Big Events+, donk remains just behind NiKo among riflers in that category (NiKo has eight).With this being his fourth MVP of 2025, he now trails Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut by three—and if Vitality’s recent struggles at high-profile tournaments like IEM Cologne and BLAST Bounty are any indication, donk may yet surpass his personal best of five MVPs in a calendar year.

Team Spirit’s dominance is clear: a staggering 19–1 record across their last 20 matches, back-to-back wins at both IEM Cologne and BLAST Bounty S2, and the top spot in the VRS (Virtual Ranking System).

On his performance in the Malta finals, donk acknowledged some challenges:

"I was not comfortable because the settings on my monitor weren't working for the first time... Mirage was a hard one." Nonetheless, he delivered impactful moments—such as a pivotal triple kill on Nuke and a quad-kill on Mirage.

Regarding pistol rounds, donk praised their improved performance:

"We were always fine on them… we were the best team in the world on pistol rounds… but after we lost a lot of shape… now it’s a good day for us, but I think it's an average day".

When asked whether Spirit is now the world’s best team, he gave a humble yet competitive response:

"Not really. We didn't face Vitality, and I think we need to beat them to become the best team in the world. Vitality has some issues, but they can fix them and still become the best team in the world because they have everything for it."

Donk also had praise for newcomer Ivan “zweih” Gogin:

“He’s great, improving very fast… listening and learning everything… a really fast learner, adapts quickly to the highest level of CS.” 

Finally, on the possibility of eclipsing his record of five MVPs in a single year, donk didn’t hesitate:

"Yeah, why not?" 

Context & Additional Insights

Vitality’s dominance and current form

Vitality has had an outstanding 2025: they clinched IEM Katowice, ESL Pro League Season 21, IEM Melbourne, BLAST Rivals, IEM Dallas, and the Austin Major—securing six titles in a row and their fifth ESL Grand Slam. However, at BLAST Bounty S2, they were upset in the semi-finals by The MongolZ—marking their first-ever series loss to them after eight failed attempts.

Spirit’s emotional triumph at IEM Cologne

Earlier in August, donk was crowned MVP at IEM Cologne—which, along with previous Big Events, completed the “trifecta” of CS's most prestigious trophies. Following their win, donk reflected emotionally:

“It was special… I did a lot of work… and now I feel like this hard work paid off. It was such an amazing feeling. I feel relief right now, very strong relief.”