MBN Events, industry leaders in the provision of high profile sporting lunches and dinners have teamed up with games industry powerhouse NewBay Media, owner of MCV and Develop, to launch the eSports Industry Awards, a brand new ceremony that recognises all of those who have contributed to the sector’s incredible growth across the globe over the past 12 months.
The event will take place on November 21 at The Brewery, London and will be hosted by BBC Radio 1’s gaming expert, Julia Hardy and Jason Bradbury from Channel 5’s The Gadget Show, in order to acknowledge and reward outstanding achievement from the world of eSports, with awards presented across 18 categories including: Team of the Year; Game of the Year; eSports Journalist of the Year and Best Live Event. All of the individual categories can be found here www.esportsindustryawards.com .
Nominations for the eSports Industry Awards 2016 open today, with the final short-list announced on Friday April 8. An international judging panel consisting of respected professionals from a cross section of the eSports industry including ex-players, media and broadcasters will then determine the overall winners in each of the categories.
“I’m really honoured to be invited to help co-host the first ever UK awards dedicated solely to eSports. It reflects just how huge the eSports world is and how quickly it is growing that we can now have a whole awards ceremony dedicated to the people who have strived tirelessly to get it where it is,” stated Julia Hardy, who added “eSports are well and truly here to stay and I’m looking forward to congratulating the winners and the nominees on the night for all their hard work in such a passionate part of gaming.”
The eSports Industry Awards 2016 has already received the backing of Gfinity, who will bring their expertise in streaming live events, as official broadcast partner. Confirmation of further high profile partnerships are expected in the coming weeks.
CEO of Gfinity, Neville Upton commented: “Gfinity is delighted to be the broadcast partner and helping to raise the profile of esports within the UK while recognising the achievements of people throughout the industry.”