Esports winners at 2019 Game Awards include Bugha and G2 Esports

The 2019 Game Awards ceremony concluded with significant revelations across competitive gaming categories, highlighting the industry’s rapid expansion.

Last year’s broadcast established itself as a major streaming event on Twitch, achieving over 1.13 million concurrent viewers at its peak. This represented a 100% increase compared to the 2017 viewership numbers.

Let’s examine how this year’s esports award outcomes differed from previous results and what these changes indicate about the evolving competitive landscape.

Best Esports Game

League of Legends emerged victorious in the Best Esports Game category, overcoming strong competition from Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Dota 2, Fortnite, and Overwatch. Riot Games celebrated a monumental evening, additionally revealing two upcoming titles: CONV/RGENCE and Ruined King.

The previous year featured identical nominees, but Overwatch claimed the championship. This shift likely resulted from the Overwatch League’s inaugural season impact diminishing throughout 2019. The city-based franchise model represented an innovative approach for competitive gaming, though its global expansion plans for 2020 couldn’t overcome the declining engagement metrics.

Best Esports Player

Golden State Warriors superstar Stephen Curry presented the Best Esports Player award, emphasizing that recognition extends beyond performance to include personal integrity and sportsmanship. Fortnite sensation Kyle ‘Bugha’ Giersdorf triumphed over legendary competitors including Lee ‘Faker’ Sang-hyeok, Luka ‘Perkz’ Perkovic, Oleksandr ‘s1mple’ Kostyliev, and Jay ‘Sinatraa’ Won.

‘I feel incredibly honored to belong to this evolving community and eagerly anticipate future developments,’ Bugha addressed the audience.

Bugha secured a $3 million prize by achieving first place at July’s Fortnite World Cup Solo Finals. This marked Epic Games’ initial structured competitive initiative for Fortnite, featuring a total prize pool exceeding $30 million. Defeating 99 competitors instantly propelled Bugha into international recognition, earning mainstream media coverage.

The previous year’s recipient was fighting game icon Dominique ‘SonicFox’ McLean, previously associated with the dissolved Echo Fox organization.

Best Esports Team

The Game Awards competition featured Astralis and Team Liquid’s CSGO squads against G2 Esports’ League of Legends roster, OG, and San Francisco Shock. G2 ultimately prevailed, largely due to their impressive second-place performance at the World Championship. The organization experienced substantial growth throughout the year, recently announcing expansion into New York City through investor Joe Tsai.

In the previous cycle, Cloud9’s League of Legends team defeated Astralis, OG, Fnatic, and London Spitfire, the inaugural Overwatch League champions.

Best Esports Coach

Astralis’ Danny ‘Zonic’ Sorensen received the Best Esports Coach honor. The Danish squad currently ranks as the world’s premier CSGO team, having captured both the StarLadder Berlin Major and IEM Katowice championships this year. Team Liquid’s CSGO coach received nomination alongside their League of Legends counterpart. SK Telecom T1’s Kim ‘kkoma’ Jeong-gyun also contended despite the team’s underwhelming World Championship performance.

Cloud9 enjoyed remarkable success during 2018, with coach Bok ‘Reapered’ Han-gyu winning Best Esports Coach over competitors from OG, Astralis, Fnatic, Team Vitality, and MiBR.

Best Esports Event

The League of Legends World Championship victory for Best Esports Event came as no surprise. The Worlds finals shattered Twitch’s concurrent viewership record previously held by the Fortnite World Cup. The International 2019 represented another worthy contender, featuring the largest prize pool in competitive gaming history.

Last year’s category composition remained nearly identical, with the League of Legends World Championship defeating The International 2018, EVO 2018, Overwatch League Grand Finals, and ELEAGUE Major: Boston 2018.

Best Multiplayer Game

Apex Legends contended across four categories but secured only one victory: Best Multiplayer Game. Respawn Entertainment’s battle royale title overcame Borderlands 3, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, The Division 2, and audience favorite Tetris 99, which received enthusiastic applause.

Fortnite streaming personality Tyler ‘Ninja’ Blevins, the 2018 Best Content Creator recipient, presented this year’s Best Multiplayer Game category.

‘Online multiplayer gaming has fundamentally shaped my identity and career,’ he remarked while opening the envelope.

Fortnite claimed this category’s trophy last year, defeating Monster Hunter: World, Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, Destiny 2: Forsaken, and Sea of Thieves.

Best Ongoing Game

Fortnite earned Best Ongoing Game recognition, prevailing over Apex Legends, Destiny 2, Final Fantasy XIV, and Rainbow Six Siege. Worldwide creative director Donald Mustard accepted the award for Epic Games.

‘This achievement represents our team’s dedication,’ Mustard addressed attendees. ‘Over one thousand developers work daily to maintain Fortnite’s innovative experience. We’re developing a consistent virtual environment where diverse intellectual properties can coexist, creating an entirely new media format.’

Fortnite also won this category previously, overcoming Destiny 2, No Man’s Sky, Overwatch, and Rainbow Six Siege. Continued industry acknowledgment demonstrates Fortnite’s enduring relevance despite professional competitor concerns regarding frequent updates and inconsistent competitive rulings.

The Game Awards consistently evolve to match the expanding esports industry. Additional categories recognize not only visually stunning narrative-driven games but also titles providing exceptional cooperative entertainment. The ceremony honors organizations, teams, athletes, and coaches who elevate competitive gameplay through exceptional skill demonstration and collaborative excellence.

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