An unusual event took place in Ukraine that bridged the gap between traditional sports and esports: the "Match of LeGGends: Derby on a Server" show match. For the first time ever, the legendary Ukrainian football club Dynamo Kyiv took on the most successful Ukrainian esports organization NAVI in a Counter-Strike 2 match. The event was conceived and supported by the international betting brand GG.BET and is now actively growing in the fields of esports and traditional sports.
Match of LeGGends is a series of special show matches initiated by GG.BET, in which top teams play Counter-Strike with a twist. What sets the show matches in this series apart is the use of non-standard game modes and the chance for players to fight either alongside their own team, on their opponents' team, or against everyone. Derby on a Server was the third "Match of LeGGends" match and the first to be played between a traditional sports team and an esports team.
For the first time ever, two titans — NAVI, a leading esports organization both within Ukraine and around the world, and football club Dynamo Kyiv, one of the most successful clubs in Eastern Europe — came together on the same "field of play." The show match included both the classic Counter-Strike format and non-tournament-standard formats: Arms Race and a format with mixed teams: DYNAVI and NAVIDY. Additionally, to balance out the skill difference, special rules were implemented, such as extra health points being awarded to a team if they lost three rounds. The show match also gathered the best professional Ukrainian commentators, streamers, and media guests. Actively including them in analysis and match commentary helped to get coverage for the event from both local outlets and social media.
The show match was streamed on the teams' digital platforms and on Maincast, the leading esports streaming platform in Eastern Europe. In just 24 hours, the match stream and VOD garnered over 170,000 views, comparable to streams of top esports matches.
"Match of LeGGends: Derby on a Server is one of the awesome projects that we organized as the basis of our strategy of interacting with fans in the local market. Thanks to our experience in creating partnerships and projects on the global arena, we are able to implement best practices in Ukraine, and not only develop in terms of both sports and esports, but bring the two together. A show match such as this is an investment from us in the variety of entertainment options available to Ukrainian fans, and raises the bar in the local market. We're shaping a new culture of sports and esports events in Ukraine," said the GG.BET press office in a statement.
The first "Match of LeGGends" show match took place in 2023 in Germany, with top teams NAVI and Team Vitality competing. This "pilot" show match was streamed in English, Ukrainian and Portuguese, and was supported by a range of famous streamers. The second show match in the series, "Match of LeGGends: Double Down," took place in Brazil and also featured NAVI and Team Vitality. "Match of LeGGends: Derby on a Server" has brought Ukraine and countries all around the world closer together. Players from Dynamo took part in the show match in Kyiv, with analysis and commentary being provided in the studio, while the NAVI squad joined the server from their hometowns after returning from Budapest, where they had just won the StarLadder StarSeries Fall 2025 tournament.
About GG.BET
GG.BET is an international betting brand represented in the UK, Ukraine and other European countries, as well as Asia. The betting brand is well-known for supporting major esports events. GG.BET has served as the official sponsor of top-tier tournaments such as the BLAST Premier CS2 series, Dota 2’s The International 2022, and many others. The brand is now expanding its focus into traditional sports and actively supports professional teams and events. For more information, visit gg.bet.
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