Eight lifetime achievement Esports Award winners revealed

They are pillars of the esports industry with careers spanning over decades. The Esports Awards have honoured eight individuals for their contribution to the industry.

24th Oct 2023 14:40

Image via Esports Awards

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The Esports Awards has announced eight new lifetime achievement award winners across various categories, each of them contributing to the esports industry in meaningful ways for over a decade.

Among the honorees are Call of Duty Legend Ian "Crimsix" Porter, perennial Quake champion Shane "rapha" Hendrixson, and the RTS superstars Manuel "Grubby" Schenkhuizen and Lee "Flash" Young Ho.

Who are the eight award winners?

For those who have followed the esports industry for a while, all of these names should ring a bell. Ranging from players to shout casters to organisation and game development company founders, a wide range of longstanding contributors to the esports industry have been honoured.

Ian "Crimsix" Porter: Currently, the unlikely ESL R1 Driver for FaZeClan, Crimsix retired from a professional career in Call of Duty after a staggering 38 Call of Duty Championships through various iterations of the game, even winning three Call of Duty World Championships in the process.

For many, he's his game’' greatest player of all time, never shy to contribute valuable insight and push the scene forward.

Shane "rapha" Hendrixson - Few pro player's careers make it past the five-year mark. Rapha is now almost two decades in and is considered the greatest Quake player of all time. Remaining relevant through various eras of the game, rapha recently won the Quake World Championship 2023, fifteen years after his victory at ESWC 2008 in Athens. A champion with simply unmatched longevity in the Arena FPS genre.

Lee "Flash" Young Ho - In many ways, Starcraft: Broodwar kickstarted the vision of what esports might become, developing a competition of the highest level in South Korea. While others in the scene rose to stardom, Flash became the first esports God.

He's displayed a level of dominance despite an incredible level of competition throughout his career. As the last and greatest Bonjwa, he defined what top-tier esports performance looks like.

Manuel "Grubby" Schenkhuizen - Grubby is an ever-green and multifaceted esports legend, making his name initially in Warcraft III, where he became one of the best players of all time and one of the few Europeans able to keep up with the strong contenders from the Asian region.

Grubby would later become a household name in various esports, competing in Starcraft 2 and eventually switching to a streaming career in games such as Heroes of the Storm, dipping back into Warcraft III during the launch of Warcraft III: Reforged.

Chris Puckett - While only hardcore esports fans will remember Puckett from his former professional Halo player career, most will recognise him as North America's evergreen esports host making his name in the Major League Gaming Call of Duty era.

Dipping his feet in various esports, Puckett would eventually become a regular cast member for the Overwatch League before eventually returning to Call of Duty. He's considered one of the most recognisable esports hosts in the industry and a major figure in North American esports.

Marc Merrill - As Co-Founder, Co-Chairman, and President of Games for Riot Games, Marc Merill's company initially first and foremost focused on League of Legends, a game that to this day remains the most popular esport on the planet.

Eventually, the company would justify the plural s in its name, adding various other titles to its repertoire. With the tactical shooter VALORANT, Merrill's Riot Games has created another esports smash hit as the company continues to be one of the most esports-facing developers in the industry.

Victor "Nazgul" Goossens - One a StarCraft: Brood War player, Nazgul founded the cult Starcraft news website Team Liquid at the tender age of 17. Now at the age of 40, Team Liquid is one of the most recognisable team brands in the esports industry, fielding teams in various esports titles.Β 

Michael "ODEE" O'Dell - Once a professional player in Battlefield 1942, ODEE would eventually make his name as one of the founders of Dignitas, an esports organisation that has been a part of the esports industry since 1999.

At its height, the organisation was part of every major esport, contributing significantly to the growth of the European esports scene. Most recently, ODEE was awarded an honorary Doctorate by the University of Chichester for his contributions to esports in education.

Sascha Heinisch

About The Author

Sascha Heinisch

Sascha "Yiska" Heinisch is a Senior Esports Journalist at GGRecon. He's been creating content in esports for over 10 years, starting with Warcraft 3.

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