Inaugural eSports Industry Awards Crowns its Winners

Last night saw over 600 guests from the world of gaming, entertainment and sport attend the inaugural eSports Industry Awards held at The Brewery, London to celebrate the outstanding achievements and contributions made in eSports over the past twelve months.
 
The ceremony received fantastic support from the eSports and gaming industries with team principles including Hector Raul Rodriguez (Owner of Optic Gaming), Mike ‘Hastro’ Rufail (Owner & MD, Team EnVyUs) and Brittanny Lattanzio (Team Manager at Team Liquid) rubbing shoulders with Duncan Ironmonger (CEO of Scuf Gaming), Steve Ford (VP Sales for Twitch), Andy Payne OBE (Chair of British eSports Association), Neville Upton (CEO of Gfinity) and Michiel Bakker (CEO of GinxTV).
 
Saracens and England player Maro Itoje, boxer David Haye, stars from DaveTV’s ‘Go 8-Bit’ and ‘The Inbetweeners’ James Buckley were just some of the celebrities who joined YouTube sensations KSI, Spencer FC, Clare Siobahn and Ali-A at The Brewery to recognise the accomplishments of both nominees and winners.
 
The eSports Industry Awards were hosted by BBC Radio 1’s Julia Hardy and Channel Five’s Jason Bradbury. The proceedings, broadcast live on Twitch, were watched by eSports fans from around the globe.
 
The winners of the inaugural awards were:
 
UK eSports Player of the Year – Callum “Swanny” Swan
Best eSports Coverage Website – The Score eSports
Best Hardware Provider – Scuf Gaming
Best Streaming Platform – Twitch
eSports Commercial Partner of the Year in association with Gillette – Monster
eSports Broadcaster of the Year – Auguste “Semmler” Massonnat
eSports Publisher of the Year – Valve Corporation
eSports Game of the Year – CS:GO
Domino’s Streamer of the Year – Michael “Imaqtpie” Santana
eSports Team of the Year in association with Xbox and Windows 10 – Team EnVyUs
eSports Live Event of the Year – The International 6
Console Player of the Year – Seth “Scump” Abner
PC Player of the Year in association with Xbox and Windows 10 – Marcelo “Coldzera” David
eSports Rookie of the Year in association with Twitch – Amer “Miracle-” al-Barqawi
eSports Personality of the Year in association with NOW TV – Gabriel “Fallen” Toledo
eSports Journalist of the Year in association with Omen by HP – Richard Lewis
eSports Photographer of the Year in association with Snugg – Robert Paul
New eSports Game of the Year – Overwatch
 
Winners in 15 of the categories were chosen by an expert panel made up of respected personalities from the world of eSports; while eSports Journalist, eSports Game and eSports Photographer were selected by the public in an online vote.
 
David Turner, Retail Marketing Controller at headline partner NOW TV, commented: “Last night was more than just a recognition of those who have made major contributions to the world of eSports; it demonstrated the passion and dedication that all those involved in the sector have and why eSports will continue its meteoric growth and appeal.”
 
“Recognising the achievements of eSport professionals has become an ever growing part of what is now considered a main stream industry, with over 250 million players online every month, and hundreds of professionals spread across dozens of games,” stated Tom Mercey from the eSports Industry Awards.
 
“The awards were established to ensure a single touch point to celebrate all achievements. The room itself reflected this, with professional gamers flying in from as far as North America to ensure they were present for these prestigious awards.”