Russian Counter-Strike 2 YouTuber Erik “Shoke” Shokov has given fans a transparent look at what it really costs to run a professional team. The influencer revealed he’s poured close to $1 million into his CYBERSHOKE Esports roster over the last 2.5 years. 

We know that operating in esports isn’t a cheap endeavor, and for many is simply a passion project while waiting for the money to come in. And Shoke knows this better than almost anyone.

YouTuber Bankrolls CS2 Team

Erik Shokov is a YouTuber with over 1.6 million subscribers. At the same time, he is also the founder of CYBERSHOKE – a platform that runs over 1,200 community CS2 servers worldwide. 

A few years back, Shoke decided to level up the brand by creating a proper Counter-Strike roster under the CYBERSHOKE name. Fast-forward to today, and the team is ranked #41 globally on the HLTV world rankings.

The current CYBERSHOKE CS2 roster is as follows:

• Ilya “FenomeN” Kolodko
• Denys “notineki” Kalachev
• David “bl1x1” Stepanyants
• Aleksandr “glowiing” Matsiyevich
• Daniil “alpha” Demin (Loan)
• Stepan “brain” Sivoronov (Coach)

Financial Details Behind CYBERSHOKE

As a content creator, Shoke has decided to become a transparent CS2 team owner, revealing the costs of running a functional roster. He recently uploaded a YouTube video breaking down how the team’s money was spent. 

Here is how the money was spent from mid-2023 to 2025:

• Salaries & compensation: $504,411
• Player buyouts: $181,700
• Team house rent: $126,625
• Bootcamps: $48,568
• LAN travel: $19,000
• Taxes & legal: $49,040
• Jerseys: $8,921
• Psychologist: $4,400

The grand total Shoke has invested in his CS2 team is $942,675.

Not all of the money came directly from his pocket. Revenue came from team sponsorships, content, premium subscriptions, and community support. The team’s presence also directly promotes the CYBERSHOKE platform. 

In the YouTube video, Shoke was openly showing the team’s financial picture, which is operating at a very heavy loss:

• 2023: Ended with a profit of $21,185
• 2024: Ended with a loss of $43,147
• 2025: Ended with a loss of $300,603

These results net the CYBERSHOKE project with a loss of over $322,000, with 2025 being the primary culprit. 

The Dream of Stickers

The numbers are brutal, but Shoke intends to keep going. He talked about enjoying traveling with the team, living on boot camps together, and just being part of a professional CS2 team. 

But, he has already decided on his end goal: to qualify for a Counter-Strike Major and get in-game stickers. Getting a sticker of your team pretty much immortalizes you within the game. These stickers last forever. Having the company he founded exist in Counter-Strike itself is the trophy he’s been chasing. 

He openly admits he doesn’t care about winning trophies. His end goal is simple: get the stickers. And once that happens, he says he can “finally rest.”