The Esports Awards 2024 winners have been named in the Riyadh ceremony in Saudi Arabia, with British League of Legends personality Marc ‘Caedrel’ Lamont among them.
The awards featured 15 categories and took place at Four Seasons Kingdom Centre. A second Esports Awards 2024 ceremony will take place in London later this year, with a a heavier focus on the pro categories, including Esports Player of the Year and Esports Team of the Year.
Among the evening’s top honorees at the Saudi ceremony were Riot Games, which took home the awards for Esports Publisher of the Year, Esports Game of the Year for Valorant, Content of the Year for the song ‘Gods’ ft. NewJeans (뉴진스) and Esports Breakthrough Game of the Year for Teamfight Tactics (TFT). This news comes a few weeks after Premier League football club Wolves won an Esports World Cup trophy in TFT.
Dota 2 professional Stanislav “Malr1ne” Potorak was celebrated as Esports Breakthrough Player of the Year, while Red Bull claimed Esports Commercial Partner of the Year.
The Esports Awards 2024 winners were announced by a host of industry figures, and proceedings were hosted by the likes of the President for OpTic Texas, Hector “Hecz” Rodriguez, esports caster Chris Puckett, and pro Call of Duty player for OpTic Texas and content creator Seth “Scump” Abner.
The red carpet featured figures such as former Manchester United Captain Patrice Evra, Maya Rogers, CEO of Tetris, as well as YouTuber and investor Casper Lee.
“We are proud to have expanded our event circuit across the globe with our first ever Middle Eastern ceremony. It has been fantastic to host the ceremony during the historic first ever Esports World Cup.”
Mike Ashford, Esports Awards
The Esports Awards Lifetime Achievement Awards was presented by His Royal Highness Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Sultan Al Saud to industry veteran, Jens Hilgers.
The event organisers honoured Jens Hilgers with the following statement from a press release: “Hilgers has dedicated his professional life to the growth of the industry. Since entering the industry in 1997, Hilgers has gone on to found some of the most well-known organisations in the industry including ESL, G2 Esports, and Bayes Esports. Hilgers’ visionary leadership and substantial contributions have had a direct impact on the evolution of the esports industry over the past 27 years, making him a truly deserving recipient of this prestigious honour.”
The Esports Awards Riyadh also saw a live performance from musical creators Rob Landes and Marcus Veltri, who are known for wowing fans online playing song requests live on piano and violin.
“As the Esports Awards Riyadh comes to a close, the Esports Awards has once again set a new standard for celebrating excellence in gaming. It is our privilege to provide a platform that elevates the esports industry and beyond, and we are deeply honoured to recognise and reward the outstanding contributions made by talented individuals in this ever-growing industry,” commented Mike Ashford, CEO of the Esports Awards.
“We are proud to have expanded our event circuit across the globe with our first ever Middle Eastern ceremony. It has been fantastic to host the ceremony during the historic first-ever Esports World Cup. To the entire esports community, we are grateful for your passion, dedication, and support. A massive congratulations to all of those awarded tonight, and I can’t wait to see you at the next ceremony.”
The Esports Awards 2024 Riyadh ceremony was brought to viewers in partnership with Oakley, Qiddiya, Honor and the Esports World Cup Foundation (EWCF).
Earlier this year, the Esports Awards’ three-year partnership with the Esports World Cup Foundation (EWCF) sparked community criticism.
List of Esports Awards 2024 winners from the Riyadh ceremony
The complete list of the Esports Awards Riyadh ceremony winners are:
Entertainment
- Esports Game of the Year – Valorant
- Esports Mobile Game of the Year presented by Honor – Mobile Legends: Bang Bang
- Esports Personality of the Year presented by Qiddiya – Seth “Scump” Abner
- Esports Content Group of the Year – S8ul Esports
- Streamer of the Year – Samy “Rivers” Rivera
Industry
- Esports Commercial Partner of the Year – Red Bull
- Esports Content & Coverage Platform of the Year – Liquipedia
- Esports Publisher of the Year – Riot Games
- Esports Breakthrough Game of the Year – Teamfight Tactics
- Esports Community Leader of the Year – Marc Robert “Caedrel” Lamont
- Lifetime Achievement in Esports – Jens Hilgers
Creative
- Esports Content of the Year – Gods ft. NewJeans (뉴진스) (Official Music Video) | Worlds 2023 Anthem – League of Legends
- Esports Creative Team of the Year – Team Liquid
Pro
- Esports Breakthrough Player of the Year – Stanislav “Malr1ne” Potorak
On-Air
- Esports Analyst of the Year – Jacob “Pimp” Winneche
Ones To Watch
Alongside the 15 main awards, the Esports Awards Riyadh ceremony introduced the “Ones To Watch” awardees, honouring new and upcoming talent in the industry. These were:
- Regional Ambassador – Bruno “Nobru” Goes, Brazil
- Content and Creative – Z1MT Creative
- Emerging Agency – Ulti Agency
- Emerging Team – Gaimin Gladiators
- Fan Engagement – S8UL Esports
- Content Creation – Full Squad Gaming
- Emerging Region – Philippines
Slasher speaks to the BBC about Saudi’s rise in esports and the Esports Awards 2024
Prominent games journalist and consultant Rod ‘Slasher’ Breslau was also asked by the BBC about the awards and the wider impact Saudi Arabia is having on esports:
Related article: Navigating through Saudi Arabia’s continued rise in esports and why it’s okay to feel conflicted – opinion
Dom is an award-winning writer and finalist of the Esports Journalist of the Year 2023 award. He graduated from Bournemouth University with a 2:1 degree in Multi-Media Journalism in 2007.
As a long-time gamer having first picked up the NES controller in the late ’80s, he has written for a range of publications including GamesTM, Nintendo Official Magazine, industry publication MCV and others. He worked as head of content for the British Esports Federation up until February 2021, when he stepped back to work full-time on Esports News UK and offer esports consultancy and freelance services. Note: Dom still produces the British Esports newsletter on a freelance basis, so our coverage of British Esports is always kept simple – usually just covering the occasional press release – because of this conflict of interest.
