Alexandr Kokhanovsky created one of the most successful esports teams in post-Soviet states. Is the team alright after his leaving?

The atmosphere in big hall of Cologne trade show on the 21st of August 2011 was so charged. The final stage of the first world tournament of Dota 2 in the history was coming to an end. The tournament was called – The International 2011. The young Ukrainian boys from Na’Vi and highly awarded Chinese team EHOME were struggling for champion’s title and biggest-ever on that moment prize money – 1 million dollars. The final match was broadcasted on 4 languages (Chinese, English, Russian and German) and it lasted 3 hours. When last Chinese player was defeated and their throne was falling, Ukrainian boys jumped out of their skins. “Million dollars, Na'Vi, million! Well done, Na’Vi! You are champions of the world!" - shouted Ukrainian commentator Vitalii Volochai who was full of emotions. After with impulse of feelings he dropped the headset and ran to hug with players.

It was the first big win of Ukrainian team, that was created by ex-player of Counter-Strike Alexandr Kokhanovsky. "After Cologne it became clear, that we are part of serious esports elite. We became a multi-brand that the whole world should now reckon with, ”recalls Kokhanovsky. Over the 10 years of its existence Na'Vi has won almost all of the world's largest esports tournaments. Prize money were almost $10 million. Now club has 7 million followers in social networks and income for 2018 was 2.5 million dollars. Kokhanovsky has already retired from operational management of the club. Is the team alright after his leaving?

Well Played

Alexander ZeroGravity Kokhanovsky played StarCraft since 1998, when he was at school. "These were dark times, even the Internet was not normal in Kiev at that time," recalls the 36-year-old Ukrainian. A year later, he switched to a new game Counter-Strike. Having met in Kiev gaming clubs with the same 15-year-old gamers, Kokhanovsky began playing professionally. He even went to international tournaments, the first major tournament was the World Cyber Games in Seoul in 2001. "Since then, I have been an integral part of the esports system, not only in CIS, but also in the world," says Kokhanovsky.

In the middle of the 2000s, the 22-year-old esports player decided to stop playing games. It was almost impossible to make money on it, explains Kokhanovsky: the maximum prize money for major tournaments, that were $25,000 to $ 40,000, were given to the top teams, and he could only win a couple of thousand dollars a month. He wasn't going to connect his life with esports. But after crisis in 2008, his teammate Sergey starix Ishchuk suggested him to create CS team and become its manager. Kokhanovsky thought that as an organizer and manager he could earn more. The sponsor was a Kazakh seller of alcohol, coffee and tea Murat Albalet Zhumashevich, whom gamers met at the tournament. Zhumashevich, like kohanovsky, was an avid CS player.

First days the team played under different names. They went to the first tournament as ex-KerchNET, says Kokhanovsky. But this strange name did not match the ambitious plans — it was necessary to create a "normal brand".