Riot, Moonton win big in Esports Awards

MANILA, Philippines – Riot Games took the top awards in the 2023 Esports Awards Ceremony at the Resorts World Las Vegas, Nevada on Thursday (Friday Manila time).

First held in 2016, the Esports Awards is the lone awarding body that celebrates achievements in the esports industry. Nominees are named by the public, and then be deliberated upon by a panel of judges who will decide on the top finalists per category. Winners are decided by the combined score from public vote and panel deliberations with the winners awarded during a live ceremony each year.

Riot Games was named Esports Publisher of the Year while the developer's first-person-shooting game, Valorant, was awarded Esports Game of the Year. Many of the individual awards also went to Riot Games' players and personalities: Valorant caster Mimi "aEvilcat" Wermcrantz for Esports Desk Analyst of the Year, Valorant player Max "Demon1" Mazanov for Esports Breakthrough Player of the Year, and Valorant coach Christine "Potter" Chi for Esports Coach of the year.

Coming off their win from the League of Legends World Championship two weeks ago, T1 League of Legends won Esports Team of the Year while the team's star player Lee "Faker" Sang-hyeok won Esports PC Player of the Year.

During the pre-awards show, Moonton Games' Mobile Legends Bang Bang won Esports Mobile Game of the Year. The esport title's world championship is set to begin Saturday, December 2, at the EVM Convention Center in Quezon City, Philippines.

"We are thankful and honored to bring back the 'Mobile Game of The Year.' This is an amazing accomplishment and would like to extend our appreciation to The Esports Awards panel committee, and the fans who've supported us. This recognition neatly ties the year up, along with our M5 World Championship happening in Manila," said Moonton Games' Head of Overseas Public Relations, Kelly Chiew.