Вікторія Горбік GameDev Eng 8 January 2025, 09:16

A 19-year-old Vinnytsia resident competes against Navi and organizes charity cyber tournaments in CS2 and Dota2. How many people have already joined?

19-year-old Danylo Lysitsa is studying «Computer Engineering» in the 4th year of Vinnytsia Vocational College of the National Technical University of Ukraine. And in parallel with his studies, the young man organizes and conducts charity tournaments in the most popular e-sports disciplines Dota2 and CS2. Danylo told dev.ua what brought him to e-sports, what he has already managed to achieve and whether he will compete with the Ukrainian e-sports organization Natus Vincere.

About the enthusiast

Danylo Lysitsa became interested in esports as a child when he first saw what it looked like on a serious level. At first, he just played for fun, but over time he began to study the game in more detail, follow professional teams, and analyze their matches.

«I sometimes play by myself, but more to stay in shape and relieve stress than at a professional level,» the young man says.

Danylo Lysitsa (Photo from personal archive)

However, Danylo’s interest in esports pushed him to take action. He decided to organize tournaments at the college level that could bring together the same enthusiasts.

About cyber tournaments

Last year, the young man organized 3 CS2 tournaments. Each of them had at least 7-8 teams, about 60 participants took part. Each tournament had almost the same teams. And the tournaments themselves were held on the Faceit platform.

In addition, Danylo held 4 more Dota 2 tournaments in college, but without a platform — they created lobbies themselves. Each of them consistently had 8 teams participating, and during the last one there were even 10. Here there were a little more participants — about 80, and the teams changed often.

Charity tournaments were held during extracurricular hours in an online format, meaning each participant participated in the game directly from home and used their own gadget.

Participation itself was free, but tournament participants were offered to make charitable contributions — 50 hryvnias from each participant, and larger amounts were also welcome. Accordingly, for each tournament it was possible to collect from 4,500 to 5,000 hryvnias. From the last tournament, funds were transferred to support the collection for the electronic warfare vehicle station for the consolidated rifle brigade of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, where a college graduate serves. Other funds collected are used to purchase parts for the manufacture of drones.

About plans

Danylo plans to hold another tournament before the end of the school year. «I hope it will also be successful,» the young man says.

He said that he previously had thoughts about joining something similar to Navi, but now he is thinking more about developing esports in Ukraine in a different way. «Maybe organizing tournaments or creating his own project that will help young players unlock their potential,» adds Danylo.

In addition, he plans to develop in the field of programming, graphics or IT support, but has not yet decided on a direction. He is also considering the direction of e-sports, because this area interests him and has great potential for development. «I am currently gaining basic knowledge and trying myself in different directions to better understand what path to choose after graduating from college,» the young man says.