Views of Ukrainian community casting (unofficial broadcasts by independent streamers) have skyrocketed by 310%. This segment currently covers over 15% of the esports broadcasting market in Ukraine, and its main drivers have become Mykhailo Lebiga and Andriy Ghostik Kadyk.
Views of Ukrainian community casting (unofficial broadcasts by independent streamers) have skyrocketed by 310%. This segment currently covers over 15% of the esports broadcasting market in Ukraine, and its main drivers have become Mykhailo Lebiga and Andriy Ghostik Kadyk.
This is evidenced by data from the Esports Charts company, which analyzed the development of Ukrainian-language esports streaming during 2022–2025 and recorded the first records for 2026.
During this time, Ukrainian-language esports broadcasts have grown almost fivefold overall: from 5.3 million to 25.4 million hours of viewing, and the volume of community casting has increased from 1 million to 4.1 million hours. Although the market is still dominated by official studios like Maincast, the share of independent casters has grown from 7% to over 15%.
«The Ukrainian market is still far from saturated. At leading world tournaments, in particular the League of Legends World Championship and Counter-Strike Major Championships, community casting often generates more than half of the views. This indicates a significant potential for the development of this segment in Ukraine as well,» notes Artem Odintsov, co-founder and CEO of Esports Charts.
Analysts identify several key factors that have changed the balance of power in Ukrainian esports:
Refusal of Russian content. The full-scale Russian invasion in 2022 forced viewers and influencers to massively and consciously boycott Russian-language broadcasts.
Supply growth. Total airtime increased from 4,300 hours in 2022 to 11,600 in 2025. Studios and streamers began covering tier-2 tournaments and new disciplines where Ukrainian teams play.
«The Lebiga Effect.» The involvement of well-known non-gaming bloggers gave the segment a boost. Mykhailo Lebiga, during NAVI matches with CS2, gathers an audience that sometimes exceeds the official Maincast figures, for which he received the Stream Awards award as the best CS2 streamer in 2025.
In March 2026, Lebiga set a record for Ukrainian community casting: the NAVI vs. Aurora Gaming final at ESL Pro League Season 23 was watched simultaneously on his channel by 76,400 viewers.
Another pillar of independent broadcasting is Andriy Ghostik Kadyk, the most popular Ukrainian-language Dota 2 streamer. From 2022 to the first half of 2026, he spent over 2,100 hours on the air (the leader in Airtime). This experience brought him recognition at the national level: in 2026, Ghostik led the national Dota 2 team as the head coach for the Esports Nations Cup in Saudi Arabia.
Together, Lebiga and Kadyk control over 60% of Ukrainian community casting. At the same time, they show opposite approaches: Lebiga relies on rare hype broadcasts of major matches, while Ghostik provides stable daily broadcasts.
