Maksim Krippa esports organization NAVI: the birth, debut, and triumph of Ukrainian esports

Over the past 20-30 years, esports in Ukraine has evolved from a cute but frowned upon hobby of video game fanatic boys to a serious industry with great monetary potential. The evolution of Ukrainian esports can be best traced through the example of the esports organization NAVI, which is currently owned by investor Maksim Krippa.

How did Born to Win start?

In Ukraine, esports has developed not because of, but in spite of, the country's lack of computers. It was very difficult to believe that the world's best players could appear in a country without computers in the noughties. If in the 90s the dream of young guys was a video recorder, in the noughties they had dreams about computers. But only a few people had personal computers, and there was no point in talking about their power. Most of the neophytes who were fascinated by video games gathered in tiny computer clubs and only in big cities.

But the audience of fans was growing, and demand, as you know, creates supply. The number of computer clubs was growing. Competition and the desire to make money forced club owners to organize competitions and then inter-district tournaments. The prizes are ridiculous nowadays: the opportunity to play for a few hours in the club for free, a new mouse, symbolic money, etc.

However, small local tournaments played their role: the guys got to know each other, shared their experiences, and most importantly, they became excited and eager to be the best, to be the winner. Gradually, teams began to form, ready to try their hand at international tournaments.

The idea of participating in a major international tournament was the beginning of the history of the esports organization Navi. The patron of Arbalet (Murat Tulemaganbetov) wanted to realize the idea of creating an organization that would bring esports to a professional level. Thus, in 2009, on the eve of a trip to a tournament in Dubai, the NAVI esports organization was founded.

A little bit about naming. Initially, the name of the organization was taken from the acclaimed movie Avatar, but then a competition was announced to decipher the letters NAVI. The winning proposal was "Natus Vincere," which means "born to win" in Latin. The future champions, according to Oleksandr Kokhanovskyi's memories: "lived in an ordinary three-room apartment and trained there."

NAVI's first star-studded team: starix (Ishchuk), ceh9 (Trinozhenko), markeloff (Markelov), Zeus (Teslenko), Edward (Sukharev), and ZeroGravity (Kokhanovsky) as manager.

Victories and arrival of investor Maksim Krippa

Having called themselves an esports organization, the guys from NAVI began not only to win but also to expand. Already in its second year of existence, NAVI won 12 medals in a fair competition, most of which were gold. NAVI players were ranked among the world's best. In 2011, the NAVI team made a mark in the history of Ukrainian and global eSports by winning the Dota 2 tournament and winning a million-dollar prize pool.

Along with the history of victories, the company's management developed. The patron left the project after a few years, and Oleksandr Kokhanovskyi became the owner of the organization. However, in 2018, problems with working capital began to arise: a large professional esports organization needed resources, and a lot of them. Kokhanovskyi was looking for a solution and came to the conclusion that NAVI needed a reliable investor.

NAVI's long search for a person with funds and a desire to connect their lives with esports led them to Maksim Krippa. The investor had already worked with the esports segment and had managed to become a shareholder in Maincast, a company that broadcasts matches and tournaments. Maksim Krippa made his first investment in NAVI at the end of 2018.

NAVI and the new owner Maksim Krippa

The cooperation between NAVI and Maksim Krippa turned out to be comfortable and fruitful. In 2019, right after Maksim Krippa became the majority owner, NAVI launched the NAVI Esports Camp project for the development of young esports players. Unsuccessful units that hindered the organization's development were closed or reformatted.

In 2020, Maksym Krippa decided to become the full owner of NAVI. But the realization of the plan took time and effort. There is no information in open sources about the terms of the agreement. However, NAVI representatives told reporters that there were several conditions and almost all of them had their own deadlines.

In 2022, Maksim Krippi managed to fulfill all the terms of the agreement and became the beneficial owner of NAVI. Then the news spread all over the media. It was about the purchase of the main and best esports organization in Ukraine.

Today, NAVI continues to demonstrate strong results and delight not only its fans but also the owner of the organization, Maksim Krippa. Rumor has it that Maksim Krippa is an ardent esports fan, although there is no confirmation of this information, as the businessman leads a private life.

Last year, NAVI esports teams participated in 132 ESL tournaments and won 27 titles, which earned the organization the second place in the world in terms of prizes won and great popularity among fans. NAVI also played at the world championships in Brawl Stars, Clash of Clans, Halo Infinite, and VALORANT. The year ended with strategic changes: the Halo Infinite and Brawl Stars teams and the Celestials women's team from VALORANT were disbanded. At the same time, NAVI returned to PUBG Mobile and StarCraft 2, introducing an updated PUBG team consisting exclusively of Ukrainian players.