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The Esports Awards have been operating for five years now, and this year features two Fortnite pros among a series of names nominated for “Esports PC Player of the Year.” This award, won by Bugha in 2019, highlights Esports players who have achieved high degrees of influence and success within their field.
Esports PC Player of the Year and the Fortnite players nominated
The names of the nominated players reads off like a list of words which would be totally unrecognizable to anyone outside of Esports circles. Names such as “Zywoo,” “Sinatraa,” or “Canadian” are mostly nonsense words which only become familiar once you become integrated into the communities to which they are a part of.
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For the massive and expansive Fortnite community, Bugha and Benjyfishy take center stage for recognizability. With open voting, anyone can vote for their favorite picks for all the available categories in the hopes of seeing their favorite figures, from Fortnite or otherwise, win the 2020 Esports Award for their respective category.
How prestigious is the Esports Awards?
Naturally, any organization that cares enough to collect the names and faces of the most influential esports players across games like Fortnite and League of Legends likely cares a great deal about the community. However, while the Esports Awards are almost certainly well intentioned, there are some issues which should be pointed out in the interest of fairness.
First of all, it should be pointed out that these Esports awards are recent, with their earliest records only stretching back to 2016. We can expect that it might take some time before recognition and legitimacy can be fully extended to them.
Second, Esports are a very wide and scattered field. A Starcraft player who has been playing since 1998 will have a very different kind of influence than a Fortnite player who hasn’t graduated high school yet.
Third, the award categories seem to be somewhat frivolous. Winning an award from an organization that sees fit to have a category for “Best Esports Commercial Partnership of the Year” seems a little strange. It would almost be as though the Football Hall of Fame had an award for Best Super Bowl Ad.
Lastly, if only because if there isn’t a “last” now my critique will get far too nitpicky, the site which hosts these awards should at the very least feature personal bios and a finished FAQ section.
Harsh criticism, but with a purpose
I really like what the people behind the Esports Awards are trying to do. As someone who has been a part of competitive gaming communities since the mid-2000s, and a strong advocate for gaming as an art form, nothing pleases me more than seeing games and gamers getting the appreciation they deserve.
However, it is because I am happy for what they are doing that I hold them to a high standard. I would like this year’s winners to win a prize worthy of their contributions, whether it be for Fortnite or Valorant or Counter-Strike. While it might be too late to suggest that they adopt these changes immediately, hopefully each year will bring with it the improvements they need.
Best of luck to Fortnite and its players.
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