The Esports Awards marked its 10th anniversary with a one-off “Decade Awards” ceremony in Riyadh on 24 August, held as part of the Esports World Cup 2025. According to a press release, the event drew 9.8 million fan votes across 14 categories, recognising the most influential figures and organisations of the past ten years.

League of Legends (LoL) dominated the honours. Riot Games was named Esports Publisher of the Decade, its flagship title won Esports Game of the Decade, and the 2017 World Championship was recognised as Esports Live Event of the Decade. Within competition, Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok, LoL player regarded as one the main esports figures in history, was named the Esports PC Player of the Decade, while his team T1 and long-time coach Kim “kkOma” Jeong-gyun were named Team and Coach of the Decade respectively.

On the commercial side, Intel was named Esports Commercial Partner of the Decade. The company has backed competitive gaming since 2001, becoming title sponsor of the Intel Extreme Masters (IEM) series and a long-term partner of ESL (now ESL FACEIT Group) tournaments, making it one of the most established corporate investors in the sector. It surpassed other companies with established presences in the esports industry, as nominees included Red Bull, Razer, DHL, Logitech G, Monster Energy, HyperX, MasterCard, SecretLab, Corsair, and Alienware.

Liquipedia was recognised as Esports Content and Coverage Platform of the Decade, while Team Liquid, one of the industry’s longest-running organisations, received Esports Organisation of the Decade.

Other individual honours went to Matthew “Nadeshot” Haag, Founder of 100 Thieves (Esports Personality of the Decade); Félix “xQc” Lengyel, one of the most watched global streamers (Streamer of the Decade); Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut, Counter-Strike 2 player for Team Vitality (Breakthrough Player of the Decade); Anthony “Shotzzy” Cuevas-Castro, professional Call of Duty player (Controller Player of the Decade); and Eefje “Sjokz” Depoortere, League of Legends host and interviewer (On-Air Talent of the Decade).

Commenting on the milestone, Mike Ashford, CEO of the Esports Awards, said: “Over the past ten years, the growth in the esports industry has been incredible to see, and it’s been a great honour to recognise the icons who have contributed to its rise in popularity.”

The Decade Awards were presented in partnership with the Esports World Cup, Oakley and media partner Hitmarker.