Throughout the Esports Awards evening, many influential people in the esports industry were recognized for the contributions and passion for the scene. These included photographers, journalists, coaches, teams, streamers, players, personalities and more. The Esports Awards are a way to celebrate the talent that helps make up the esports industry. The hard work and determination these people show enables the esports industry to continue to rise in quality and popularity each year - alongside the fans.
Of course, esports wouldn't be possible without the games that all the fans love and this year League of Legends took home the award for the 2019 'Game of the Year.'
This has been a special year for League of Legends. The game recently celebrated its ten year anniversary after it's original release back on October 27th, 2009. Ten years later and League of Legends is still considered the best esports game around, beating out top-notch esports scenes like CS:GO, Rainbow Six Siege and Overwatch which continues to find great success with the Overwatch League. There were a handful of other games as well including the pop culture phenomenon - Fortnite. The fact that League of Legends is not only incredibly successful as an esport, but still considered the best after ten years is a testament to everyone involved that includes players, game developers and fans.
League of Legends recently wrapped up their biggest tournament of the year (and the biggest tournament in all of esports) with the League of Legends World Championship. The tournament ran from the beginning of October all the way until November 10th. Worlds ended with FunPlus Phoenix beating out G2 Esports - the team who won the award for 'Team of the Year.' The viewership saw incredible results with almost 4 million at it's peak, a staggering number in the industry and almost double from the 2018 Worlds tournament.
It's obvious that League of Legends rules the esports scene. With games setting up new leagues such as the Overwatch League and the upcoming Call of Duty League, there is a bigger reach than ever of esports available to audiences around the world. Still, League of Legends continues to thrive tens years after its initial release and doesn't look to be slowing down anytime soon. It truly earned the award for the best esports game this year.