eSports
ESPORTS AWARDS UNVEILS PRO, ON-AIR AND COLLEGIATE FINALISTS

The Esports Awards, the most prestigious night in the esports calendar, is excited to reveal the finalists for this year’s Pro and On-Air and Collegiate awards. As some of the most highly anticipated categories, this year’s finalists include the likes of Trevor “Quickshot” Henry, G2 Esports and Heo “ShowMaker” Su.
This year’s Esports Awards will officially be returning to a physical event taking place on November 20th at the Esports Stadium Arlington. The Esports Stadium will provide the perfect backdrop for an evening of celebration and prestige which will be attended by some of the biggest brands, organisations and personalities from esports and beyond.
The finalists for the Pro, On-Air and Collegiate were announced as part of Esports Awards 6th Spotlight Show of the year which was hosted by Thom ‘F.’ Badinger with guest hosts Parker ‘Interro’ Mackay and Jess ‘JessGOAT’ Bolden. The show played host to the Creative Corner segment where George Nowack interviewed Rich Lock, Jess and Parker went head to head in the ultimate quiz challenge and FaZe Crowder was interviewed by Fdot.
The full list of Pro, On-Air & Collegiate finalists are:
Esports Coach of the Year in partnership with Expedia
- James “Crowder” Crowder
- James “Mac” MacCormack
- Bok “Reapered” Han-gyu
- Andrii “B1ad3” Gorodenskyi
- Dyjair “Mity” Soares
- Kim “kkOma” Jeong-gyun
- Arthur “TchubZ” Martins
- Emiliano “Sizz” Benny
- Andrey “Engh” Sholokhov
- Byung-chul “Moon” Moon
- Mark “MarkyB” Bryceland
Esports Controller Player of the Year in partnership with SCUF
- Chris “Simp” Lehr
- Justin “jstn.” Morales
- Eric “Snip3down” Wrona
- Tyler “aBeZy” Pharris
- Joseph “Mang0” Marquez
- Evan “M0nkey M00n” Rogez
- Jack “JBM” Mascone
- Dominique “SonicFox” McLean
- Gavin “Tweek” Dempsey
- Victor “Fairy Peak!” Locquet
Esports Controller Rookie of the Year in partnership with SCUF
- Jamie “Insight” Craven
- Evan “M0nkey M00n” Rogez
- RaĆŗl “DmentZa” Palazuelos
- Eli “Standy” Bentz
- Paco “HyDra” Rusiewiez
- Marc “MaRc_By_8.” Domingo
- Andres “dreaz” Jordan
Esports Mobile Player of the Year presented by Verizon
- Zhu “paraboy” Bocheng
- Mohamed “Mohamed Light” Tarek
- Gabriel “Syaz” Vasconcelos
- Mustafa “SkYRiiKZz” Ibrahim
- Karl Gabriel “KarlTzy” Nepomuceno
- Jash “Learn” Shah
- Piyapon “TheCruz” Boonchuay
- Brian “Tectonic” Michel
- Lucas “LucasXGamer” VinĆcius Batista Rocha
- Cauan “Cauan7” da Silva
Esports Organisation of the Year
- LOUD
- 100 Thieves
- G2 Esports
- Team Liquid
- FaZe Clan
- NRG
- TSM FTX
- Fnatic
- Cloud9
- T1
- Envy
- OverActive Media
Esports PC Player of the Year
- Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev
- Luccas “Paluh”Ā Vinicius Molina
- Tyson “TenZ” Ngo
- Heo “ShowMaker” Su
- Wang “Ame” Chunyu
- Kim “Doinb” Tae-sang
- Dmitry “sh1ro” Sokolov
- Ayaz “nAts” Akhmetshin
- Jae-Won “LIP” Lee
Esports PC Rookie of the Year
- Kyle “Danny” Sakamaki
- Javier “Elyoya” Prades Batalla
- Tyson “TenZ” Ngo
- Ayaz “nAts” Akhmetshin
- Adam “Adam” Maanane
- Valeriy “B1T” Vakhovskiy
- Dmitry “sh1ro” Sokolov
- Se-hyun “Pelican” Oh
- Robin “Robinsongz” Sung
Esports Team of the Year in association with Secretlab
- Atlanta FaZe (CDL)
- The General NRG (Rocket League)
- Natus Vincere (NAVI) (CS:GO)
- Ninjas in Pyjamas (Rainbow 6)
- DWG KIA (League of Legends)
- PSG.LGD (Dota 2)
- MAD Lions (LoL)
- Gambit Esports (VALORANT)
- Shanghai Dragons (Overwatch)
- Sentinels (VALORANT)
Esports Analyst of the Year
- Anthony “NAMELESS” Wheeler
- Emily Rand
- Jacob “Pimp” Winneche
- Jess ‘JessGOAT’ Bolden
- Marc Robert “Caedrel” Lamont
- Kyle “melonzz” Freedman
- Jonathan “Reinforce” Larsson
- Sean “sgares” Gares
- Jason “moses” O’Toole
Esports Colour Caster of the Year
- Chad “SPUNJ” Burchill
- Mohan “launders” Govindasamy
- Michael “KiXSTAr” Stockley
- Josh “Sideshow” Wilkinson
- Thomas “Chance” Ashworth
- Andrew “Vedius” Day
- Sam “Kobe” Hartman-Kenzler
- John “Johnnyboi_i” MacDonald
- Stephen “Sajam” Lyon
Esports Host of the Year Presented by Arlington.Org
- Eefje ‘sjokz’ Depoortere
- Alex “Goldenboy” Mendez
- Soe Gschwind
- James “Dash” Patterson
- Jorien “Sheever” van der Heijden
- Ana Paula ‘Ana XisdĆŖ’ Cardoso
- Loviel “Velly” Cardwell
- Tres “stunna” Saranthus
- Brody “Liefx” Moore
- Ghassan “MiloshTheMedic” Finge
- Caleb “WavePunk” Simmons
- Chris “Puckett” Puckett
Esports Play by Play Caster of the Year
- Parker “Interro” Mackay
- Alex “Machine” Richardson
- Miles Ross
- Trevor “Quickshot” Henry
- Clayton “CaptainFlowers” Raines
- Mitch “Uber” Leslie
- Callum “Shogun” Keir
- Owen “ODPixel” Davies
- Lauren “Pansy” Scott
- BrunoClash
Esports Collegiate Program of the Year
- Northwood University
- Boise State University
- Maryville University
- Grand Canyon University
- University of Hawai’i
- Buckeye Gaming Collective – Ohio State University
- Longhorn Gaming – University of Texas at Austin
- Minnesota State University, Mankato
- Illini Esports – University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
- Winthrop University
Esports Collegiate Ambassador of the Year
- Dr. Chris “Doc” Haskell
- Adam Antor
- Chris Turner
- Ariane Lim
- Ryan Johnson
“I’m really excited to unveil the final set of finalists for this year’s awards which is set to be our biggest and most prestigious event yet. With less than two months to go, the team is hard at work making sure that this year’s ceremony is packed full of celebration, excitement and special surprises,” saidĀ Michael Ashford, CEO, Esports Awards
The Esports Awards is delighted to announce Expedia as the Official Travel Companion for this year’s ceremony. Expedia will work closely together with the Esports Awards on creating a number of ‘epic moments’ for attendees, viewers and fans showcasing the globality of the awards.
Other partners for the Esports Awards 2021 includeĀ The Koyo Store,Ā Sizzle Creative,Ā Touch of Ginger,Ā SCUF,Ā Arlington CVB,Ā SecretLab,Ā Make-A-Wish,Ā Skullz, andĀ Verizon.
Esports Awards 2021 key campaign dates for the rest of the year are:
- October:Ā The Go-Home Show building up to the main event
- Saturday 20th November:Ā The Esports Awards 2021 Ceremony
eSports
Fighting Game GOAT Justin Wong Joins BASILISK, Scienceās Esports Team

BASILISK, the global esports organization built to champion science, announced the signing of legendary fighting game competitor Justin āJwongā Wong as captain of its newly formed Fighting Game Community (FGC) Division. Wong will lead BASILISKās entry into the FGC by recruiting players, developing community events, and creating FGC – science crossover content.
āJustin isnāt just a competitive genius ā he is a cultural icon and humble leader within the FGC. We are incredibly proud to have him leading our FGC division and support the amazing work he already does for the community,ā said BASILISK co-founder Christopher Bothur.
A nine-time Evolution Championship Series (Evo) Champion and Guinness World Record holder, Wong brings unparalleled FGC credibility and expertise to BASILISK. His reach extends across the entire FGC fandom of millions, and he was immortalized in Evo Moment #37 which has over 100 million views.
As Captain of BASILISK FGC, Wong will leverage BASILISKās data analytics to scout and train the next generation of FGC pros.
āMath is super important to fighting games. Iām excited to join scienceās esports team. Iām passionate about finding promising players with a positive mentality and shaping them into the next big thing. I want to see somebody else in the spotlight after me and help them reach their potential. If we can discover the next world champion, that would be fantastic,ā said Wong upon joining BASILISK.
The signing comes on the heels of BASILISKās new partnerships with The Planetary Society and Caltechās Institute for Quantum Information and Matter (IQIM), announced in July. These collaborations create a powerful bridge between renowned scientific institutions and gamers, which Wong will amplify to his millions of followers and fans.
āJustin is a dream addition to our organization. He exemplifies the dedication and analytical capacity required to be an esports champion or great scientist,ā added BASILISK co-founder Hans Kassier.
Wong becomes the second āGOATā (Greatest of All Time) to join BASILISK, alongside Finnish StarCraft 2 legend Joona āSerralā Sotala, who just captured the SC2 Esports World Cup Championship in July 2025. The signing also creates opportunities for cross-over content with BASILISKās diverse roster, including chess Grandmaster Vincent Keymer and award-winning science communicator Kyle Hill, who brings over 2.5 million followers and a vast network of science enthusiasts to the organization.
eSports
Fighting Game GOAT Justin Wong Joins BASILISK, Scienceās Esports Team

Nine-time Evo Champion and Guinness World Record Holder Brings Legendary Status to Captain New Team, Recruit Talent, and Advance Scienceās Role in Competitive Gaming
BASILISK, the global esports organization built to champion science, today announced the signing of legendary fighting game competitor Justin āJWongā Wong as captain of its newly formed Fighting Game Community (FGC) Division. Wong will lead BASILISKās entry into the FGC by recruiting players, developing community events, and creating FGC – science crossover content.
āJustin isnāt just a competitive genius ā he is a cultural icon and humble leader within the FGC,ā said BASILISK co-founder Christopher Bothur. āWe are incredibly proud to have him leading our FGC division and support the amazing work he already does for the community.ā
A nine-time Evolution Championship Series (Evo) Champion and Guinness World Record holder, Wong brings unparalleled FGC credibility and expertise to BASILISK. His reach extends across the entire FGC fandom of millions, and he was immortalized in Evo Moment #37 which has over 100 million views.
As Captain of BASILISK FGC, Wong will leverage BASILISKās data analytics to scout and train the next generation of FGC pros.
āMath is super important to fighting games. Iām excited to join scienceās esports team,ā said Wong upon joining BASILISK. āI’m passionate about finding promising players with a positive mentality and shaping them into the next big thing. I want to see somebody else in the spotlight after me and help them reach their potential. If we can discover the next world champion, that would be fantastic.ā
The signing comes on the heels of BASILISKās new partnerships with The Planetary Society and Caltechās Institute for Quantum Information and Matter (IQIM), announced in July. These collaborations create a powerful bridge between renowned scientific institutions and gamers, which Wong will amplify to his millions of followers and fans.
āJustin is a dream addition to our organization,ā added BASILISK co-founder Hans Kassier. āHe exemplifies the dedication and analytical capacity required to be an esports champion or great scientist.ā
Wong becomes the second āGOATā (Greatest of All Time) to join BASILISK, alongside Finnish StarCraft 2 legend Joona āSerralā Sotala, who just captured the SC2 Esports World Cup Championship in July 2025. The signing also creates opportunities for cross-over content with BASILISK’s diverse roster, including chess Grandmaster Vincent Keymer and award-winning science communicator Kyle Hill, who brings over 2.5 million followers and a vast network of science enthusiasts to the organization.
Compliance Updates
Oddin.gg Officially Registered with LOTBA as a Supplier in the City of Buenos Aires

Oddin.gg has been officially registered as a supplier by the Lottery of the City of Buenos Aires (LOTBA). This authorization clears the way for Oddin.gg to provide its end-to-end esports betting ecosystemāincluding its Odds Feed, Risk Management, BetBuilder, Widgets, and moreāto licensed operators in the City of Buenos Aires. The milestone reinforces Oddin.ggās strategic focus on supporting partners across Latin America.
LOTBA, the regulatory authority for online gaming within the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is well known for its rigorous compliance and technical standards. While the body manages licensing and enforcement, suppliers must undergo a formal registration process before providing services to local operators. Oddin.ggās successful registration confirms that it has met all relevant technical, financial, and compliance requirements.
Juana Bischoff, Senior Business Development Manager LATAM at Oddin.gg, said: āBeing officially registered with LOTBA marks an important step in Oddin.ggās long-term commitment to the Latin American market. Esports is gaining real traction across the region, and we want operators in Buenos Airesāand beyondāto have the tools and insight to deliver a top-tier esports betting experience. Weāre not just bringing leading technologyāweāre bringing the local expertise and regulatory awareness needed to help our partners like Betsson and Jugadon grow.ā
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