Sjokz, Caedrel and Ashley Kang Get Awards
Riot Games Win Best Publisher, Best Esports Game at Esports Awards
The recent 2021 Esports Awards saw League of Legends developer and publisher Riot Games take the valuable publisher of the year award and Valorant take the prize for best Esports game. Meanwhile, several well-known figures around the League of Legends pro scene - LEC host Eefje "Sjokz" Depoortere, LEC analyst Marc Robert "Caedrel" Lamont and Korizon founder Kang "Ashley Kang" Ji-hye - were also recognized.
2021 has been a difficult year for esports as community creators and major publishers have looked for ways to present their games during the pandemic. We have seen delayed or cancelled events, games broadcast from empty studios and world championships played without a live audience. Still, we saw several big companies step up to the plate - and while Riot Games was unable to guarantee live audience for its leagues and Worlds, it returned to a more or less regular schedule, brought back the Mid-Season Invitational and launched the Valorant pro scene. So when the Esports Awards ceremony came this weekend, there were many eyes on the LoL developer and the people involved in esports - and the awards saw several of them recognized.
Riot Games took several of the biggest awards of the night. The company took the Esports publisher of the year once more, nabbed the Esports Broadcast/Production Team and also saw Valorant became the Esports game of the year.
Two large organizations with LoL teams - G2 Esports and 100 Thieves - fared quite well too. After taking their first LCS title this year, 100 Thieves won the organization of the year award and the prize for apparel of the year. G2's founder Carlos "ocelote" Rodríguez Santiago, meanwhile, went home with prizes for creative piece of the year and best video production.
Several of League's most prominent faces were recognized as well. Iconic LEC hostess Eefje "Sjokz" Depoortere received another accolade for her collection as host of the year. This is not Sjokz' first such award - she already won in 2020 and came close the year before - but it is well-deserved, as the Belgian host was on top of her game once more in 2021. LEC analyst and former pro jungler Marc Robert "Caedrel" Lamont took the prize for best analyst. Despite only joining the LEC team this year, the Englishman has become a well-respected part of the broadcast team. Finally, LCK interviewer and Korizon founder Kang "Ashley Kang" Ji-hye won the award for Esports content creator of the year after yet another year of being the window of English-speaking fans into the LCK.
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