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It was undoubtedly a special night for esports on Monday November 12th, as the industry took the evening to pay tribute to the best of the best.
There was no stone left unturned as every area in the growing industry was honoured. And one particular scene did very well indeed after winning multiple awards on the night. Call of Duty ended the Esports Industry Awards with Console Rookie of the Year, Play of the Year, and Broadcaster of the Year awards.
CoD was hopeful going into the event, which was held in London, after being nominated for nine awards. Seven of those nominees were voted in the top three of their categories. Other winners on the night included Blizzard for Publisher of the Year, for the eSports app it launched in October, and Overwatch, which won Game of the Year. Fortnite superstar Tyler “Ninja” Blevins won Personality of the Year and Streamer of the Year.
Ninja was the first-ever gamer to appear on the cover of ESPN The Magazine in September after having easily broken streaming records while playing Fortnite (including a session with rapper Drake). He was also named among Time’s 100 Most Influential People on the Internet. These examples illustrate that mainstream audiences are taking video games and esports very seriously indeed.
It’s also proving to be a popular pastime among those who enjoy betting on e-sports events at sites such as Betsson, with games such as League of legends, CSGO and Dota 2 all available for a flutter. While those games are still going strong, Call of Duty did especially well at the awards, having been involved in the following accolades:
Broadcaster of the Year
Clint “Maven” Evans (pictured, top) is a favourite among fans for his breakdown analysis on the non-stop action that we typically see from any Call of Duty World League match.
He won Broadcaster of the Year thanks to his contributions to the this year’s Call of Duty World League season for Call of Duty: WWII. As audiences for the Black Ops 4 CWL season estimated to be off the charts, hordes of fans will be continue to be treated to award-winning broadcasting from Maven, who will tell them everything they want to know.
Console Rookie of the Year
Kenny Williams made an impressive entrance in the world of CWL this year with his abilities at the forefront of three key LAN championships, as well as finishing runners-up at the CWL Championship.
His team 100 Thieves will now be hoping that Kenny can continue to perform at the level that saw him crowned the 2018 Esports Industry Awards Console Rookie of the Year winner, into the Black Ops 4 CWL season.
Play of the Year
There was no shortage of competition for this one. It wasn’t a huge surprise, however, to hear it was the Search and Destroy 1 vs 3 clutch in round 11 against OpTic Gaming by Dillon “FaZe Attach” Price of FaZe Clan. The Play of the Year helped FaZe Clan win the CWL Global Pro League Stage 1 Playoffs over a longtime rival.
As Call of Duty managed to win multiple honours at this year’s Esports Industry Awards after Price, Kenny, and Evans all made contributions this year, the whole community will be expecting the Black Ops 4 CWL season to offer more stunning plays, performances and broadcasts. We’ll have to wait and see to find out what else is in store for CoD fans.
An appreciative community
The ceremony was hosted by esports stars Lottie Van Praag, Alex “Goldenboy” Mendez and Eefje “Sjokz” Depoortere, along with Adam Savage. The community proved just how much they appreciate their favourite games and stars, with over 3.3m casting votes and more than 2m joining in via a live Twitter stream.
The Esports Awards is designed to honour and reward those who have made outstanding contributions to the industry. There are 22 categories, with each having a minimum of 12 nominees.
The Esports Awards also announced ‘Gaming Fund for Change’, a charitable joint venture with Movember, the charity responsible for an annual event that asks men to grow moustaches in in November to raise awareness of men’s health issues.
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