Buster: Streamer to Mogul
Vyacheslav "Buster" Leontiev is not just one of the most popular streamers in the RuNet with 4.8 million followers on Twitch. Over the past three years, he has transformed from a charismatic "Colonel Busterenko" into a full-fledged media mogul: he founded the esports organization Gun5, launched the main streamer award SLAY, opened a network of computer clubs, and brought Lunacy to the top of gaming peripheral brands. We delve into how a blogger with 9 Fs in a quarter built his own industry.
From Underachiever to Record-Breaker: Buster’s Journey
Vyacheslav Leontiev was born on February 25, 1997, in Zelenograd. He studied, to put it mildly, without much enthusiasm: in the fifth grade, he had nine Fs in one quarter. His mother sent Slava to a cadet school, where he stayed for three years. He tried to smuggle a phone into the GIA exam and was caught, and in preparation for the Unified State Exam, he paid 15,000 rubles for math answers — but even that didn't help: he failed to get the passing score.
However, from childhood, he was interested in computer games. In the fifth grade, he first launched CS, and by the sixth, he went to a LAN tournament. At first, he dreamed of a career as a professional esports player but quickly realized how high the competition was on the pro scene.
In 2015, Slava registered on Twitch, but active streams only began in 2019. His distinguishing feature is hyper-emotional delivery, shouting, improvisation, and chaotic energy. In just one month, his average online audience grew to 200-250 viewers, after collaborations — to 1500, and by March 2020, when the pandemic hit, he was already gathering nearly 10,000 viewers for each broadcast.
Today, his numbers are astounding:
- Twitch — 4.8 million followers (CIS online record — 758,000 viewers)
- YouTube — 3.7 million subscribers
- TikTok — 6.3 million followers
- Instagram — 2 million followers
In 2021, he was included in Forbes' "30 Under 30" ranking in the "New Media" category. In 2025, he called that year his best in terms of income, bought a Ferrari, launched five more computer clubs, and set an online viewership record.
Gun5: The Esports Club of Dreams
How it all began
The idea of creating his own esports organization appeared to Buster long before he became a famous streamer. "I tried to assemble a team even before I became a streamer — 7-8 years ago. I would just gather guys without salaries, and we tried to find sponsors," he said in an interview.
On September 25, 2023, Buster finally introduced Gun5 to the world — his esports organization. The first discipline was CS:GO (at that time still GO, not CS2). The name was not chosen by chance: "Cloud9 is just pure love, it's crazy. Gun5 is first, and then Cloud9. I realized that for a team's success, its name must contain a number," the streamer explained.
Roster assembly: a targeted approach
Buster entrusted the roster assembly to Alexey "OverDrive" Biryukov — the chief scout and insider of Eastern Europe. "Lekha OverDrive and I met at a LAN when I was playing for Bebra. And when I decided to assemble a roster, I just messaged him on Telegram. I just know that he has experience in this, he's very knowledgeable," Buster explained.
The final roster included:
- Vladislav "FinigaN" Usov (captain) — the most experienced player, who played for Espada and K23;
- Anton "Supra" Chernobay — former Gambit Youngsters player, sh1ro and Ax1le's teammate;
- Vladislav "Xielo" Lysov (17 years old) — a rising star;
- Daniil "Lov1kus" Nikitin — former Baks player;
- Vladimir "Resoluxe" Kihaioglo — 20-year-old sniper from Moldova.
There were some losses: some players Buster initially counted on were poached by competitors.
Boot camp and content approach
Buster approached team management unconventionally for esports. Firstly, he organized a full-fledged boot camp in a luxury village — from September 22 to October 22, 2023, the team lived and trained together. Secondly, he stated from the beginning that Gun5 is not just about the game, but also about content.
"I want to do everything as openly as possible. I have a couple of cool ideas for videos that will help them relax. Take them to acting classes, to a tattoo parlor, to a barbershop, to the gym. In short, so they have fun. I want the association to be that players can also be stylish, look very cool."
In the announcement video, Buster even subjected the players to challenges from popular bloggers and m0NESY: they stood on nails, held planks, and operated an excavator.
Main achievement and closure
During Gun5's existence, the team held boot camps and participated in tournaments from ESL and DreamHack. The main achievement was winning the 500 Christmas Cup 2024, where the prize money was 30 thousand dollars. Buster also said that "he had already earned 2 million rubles from the team."
However, at the end of 2025, Buster unexpectedly announced the closure of the organization. In his year-end summary post, he wrote as the 15th point: "Closed my esports organization GUN5 (PRESS F)." He later explained the reason in more detail: "I lost interest in it as a content unit."
"Press F" is a reference to Call of Duty, where the F button is used to pay respects or say goodbye. Gun5 existed for a little over two years and departed beautifully, leaving behind vivid videos, a tournament victory, and most importantly — proof that a blogger can seriously enter esports.
SLAY: The "Oscar" for Streamers
If Gun5 was more of Buster's personal dream, the SLAY (Stream Legends Awards of the Year) award became his main contribution to the streaming industry.
How the idea came about
Buster noticed that esports lives its own big life — there's The International, ESL One, majors. But streamers, who gather millions of viewers, don't have their own professional celebration. He decided to fix that.
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