Press release —
THE ESPORTS AWARDS ANNOUNCE SECOND WAVE OF FINALISTS
- Finalists named for Esports Team of the Year, Esports Organisation of the Year, Esports Coach of the Year, Esports Analyst of the Year, and more
- Voting takes place at www.esportsawards.com/vote until November 10th. Turbo Week will run from November 3rd to 10th, when votes are worth double.
LONDON, United Kingdom, September 30th, 2026: The Esports Awards presented by Thunderpick, the biggest and most prestigious night in esports, today announced a further selection of finalists for its annual award show. Announced as part of its Spotlight Show hosted by Soe Gshcwind, James “Dash” Patterson, and Evan “Raynday” Raynr, the likes of AG.AL, Chen “Bin” Zebin, and Danil “Donk” Kryshkovets were all named as finalists.
The Esports Awards will take place on November 17th in Miami, Florida, bringing the esports and gaming community together for an evening of celebration and recognition. Alongside the main ceremony, attendees can look forward to a host of exciting side events, including the Esports Awards Invitational, Lifetime Achievement Mixer, and PWR UP B2B Conference.
The second wave of categories and finalists for the 2026 Esports Awards are:
Esports Breakthrough Player of the Year
- Jaime “Craime” Bustos
- Bruno “Neon” Rodríguez
- Maksim “kyousuke” Lukin
- Danil “Molodoy” Golubenko
- Oltean “shxrk” Rareș Ștefan
- Khawaja “M. Zubair” Muhammad Zubair
- Jeremiah “Nium” Harrison
- Alexey “not me” Kosmynin
- Sin “Smash” Guem-jae
- Ștefan “Sayonara” Mîtcu
Esports Team of the Year
- Team Vitality - Counter-Strike 2
- Optic Texas - Call of Duty
- PARIVISION - Dota 2
- Bilibili Gaming - League of Legends
- Team Spirit - Counter-Strike 2
- 100 Thieves - Valorant
- Team Spirit - Dota 2
- Gentle Mates - Rocket League
- FaZe Clan - Rainbow Six Siege
- Team Falcons - Rocket League
Esports PC Player of the Year
- Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut
- Illya “Yatoro” Mulyarchuk
- Danil “Donk” Kryshkovets
- Kim “Peyz” Soo-hwan
- Chen “Bin” Zebin
- Peter “Asuna” Mazuryk
- Taylor-Petrik “vic0” Gatschelhofer
- Miguel “Blinkzr” Quiles
- Jaime “Cyber” Pereira Ramos
- Marschal “Terra” Weaver
Esports Controller Player of the Year
- Saul “MenaRD” Leonardo Mena II
- Brandon “Dashy” Otell
- Chris “Simp” Lehr
- Saleh “Rw9” Abdullah Bakhashwin
- Nassim “Nass” Bali
- Axel “Vatira” Touret
- Arslan “Arslan Ash” Siddique
- Khawaja “M. Zubair” Muhammad Zubair
Esports Organisation of the Year
- AG.AL
- Team Vitality
- Team Falcons
- Team Spirit
- Gentle Mates
- Karmine Corp
- T1
- G2 Esports
- NAVI
- Team Liquid
- Virtus.Pro
- FaZe Clan
Esports Coach of the Year
- Rémy “XTQZZZ” Quoniam
- Damon “Karma” Barlow
- Yaroslav “Miposhka” Naidenov
- Clement “Puppey” Ivanov
- Kim “cvMax” Dae-ho
- Nikita “Coldstar” Morozov
- Yoon “Homme” Sung-young
- Rafael “RafadeLL” Batista de Oliveira
- Dennis “sycrone” Benthin Nielsen
Esports Play by Play Caster of the Year
- Alex “Machine” Richardson
- Victoria “VikkiKitty” Perez
- Connor “Scrawny” Girvan
- Owen “ODPixel” Davies
- Brandon Smith
- Miles Ross
- Mark “Onset” Hatcher
- Steven “Tasty Steve” Scott
- Mitch “Uber” Leslie
- Joey “Jorby” Ahrens
- Seth “Achilios” King
- Max “Atlus” Anderson
Esports Colour Caster of the Year
- Daniel “Gaskin” Gaskin
- Josh “Sideshow” Wilkinson
- Ioannis “Fogged” Loucas
- Chad “SPUNJ” Burchill
- James “Jamesbot” Villar
- Thomas “Chance” Ashworth
- Mohan “launders” Govindaswamy
- Cameron “CJCJ” Johns
- Niclas “Pengu” Mouritzen
- Isaac “Azael” Cummings-Bentley
- Vicki “GottMoxi” Johnson
Esports Host of the Year
- Iain Chambers
- Jake “SirActionSlacks” Kanner
- Eefje “Sjokz” Depoortere
- Lauren “GlitterXplosion” Laracuente
- Barney Banks
- Freya Spiers
- Evan “Raynday” Byron Ryanr
- Salome “Soe” Gschwind-Repp
- Sean “Stax” Stackhouse
- Chris “Puckett” Puckett
Esports Analyst of the Year
- Tyler “TBates” Bates
- Anthony “NAMELESS” Wheeler
- Quinn “Quinn” Callahan
- Alex “Mauisnake” Ellenberg
- Beatriz “kaquka” Alonso
- John “Jhawk” Harris
- Léo “Alphama” Robine
- Emily Rand
- Jacob “Pimp” Winneche
- Mira “Ephey” Riad
- Barento “Raz” Mohammed
“We’re thrilled to unveil the second wave of finalists for this year’s Esports Awards. The calibre of talent, represented across this year’s categories, is a testament to the continued growth and impact of our industry. We’re excited to celebrate these incredible finalists in Miami and look forward to bringing everyone together for what promises to be an unforgettable evening,” said Michael Ashford, CEO of the Esports Awards.
Voting takes place at www.esportsawards.com/vote until November 10th. Fans can make their votes count twice as much during Turbo Week, running from November 3rd to November 10th, where every vote submitted carries double the weight in the final push.
The Esports Awards is proudly partnered with Thunderpick, Esports World Cup, Oakley, Hotspawn, Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau, and Miami DDA.
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About the Esports Awards
Founded in 2015, the Esports Awards is the most prestigious night in the esports calendar and the only global award show that aims to recognise esports excellence. The Esports Awards is dedicated to showcasing world-class performance and innovation from every corner of the industry throughout the year and reaches its pinnacle at its end-of-year ceremony, considered the Oscars of esports. The ceremony celebrates everyone from the players, teams, media, hardware providers, games, events, and personalities that shape the esports industry.
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About Thunderpick
Built by gamers for gamers, Thunderpick is a leading esports platform offering markets across the world's biggest competitive titles alongside live streaming, community activations, and fan-first experiences. Thunderpick continues to invest in competitive gaming through original tournaments, partnerships, and initiatives that help grow the global esports ecosystem.
Thunderpick is not available to Florida residents.
About The Esports World Cup
The Esports World Cup (EWC) is a premier annual sporting event and global celebration of competitive excellence and esports fandom. The competition features a unique cross-game format that pits the world's top esports Clubs against one another for the largest prize pool in esports history. Hosted in Paris, France, in the summer of 2026, the EWC will bring gaming and esports communities together again to crown the next Esports World Cup Club Champion.
To learn more about EWC, visit esportsworldcup.com and follow Esports Foundation on LinkedIn.
About Oakley
Established in 1975 and headquartered in Southern California, Oakley is one of the leading product design and sport performance brands in the world. The holder of more than 900 patents, Oakley is a culture of creators, inventors, idealists, and scientists obsessed with using design and innovation to create products and experiences that inspire. This philosophy has made Oakley one of the most iconic and inimitable brands on the market, with products that world-class athletes around the globe depend on to compete at the highest levels. Oakley extended its position as one of the world’s leading sports eyewear brand into apparel and accessories, developing men’s and women’s product lines that appeal to Sports Performance, Active, and Lifestyle consumers. Oakley is a subsidiary of Luxottica Group. Additional information is available at www.oakley.com.
About Hotspawn
Hotspawn is the esports community for fans who live and breathe competitive gaming, covering Counter-Strike, League of Legends, Dota, VALORANT, and beyond. Through in-depth editorial, active communities, and live Pick'ems games, Hotspawn treats fans as insiders and gives them a place to play, connect, and prove they know their stuff.
