On 7 April 2026, the Esports Awards announced that its 11th annual ceremony will take place in North America later this year. The 2026 event will once again feature core categories such as Esports Game of the Year and Streamer of the Year, alongside the return of the Esports Awards Golf Invitational, a networking event for industry stakeholders.

The move marks a return to the region after a 2025 season that saw the organisation celebrate its 10th anniversary at the HyperX Arena in Las Vegas.

The decision follows a period of dual-hosting for the organisation. While the Esports Awards entered a high-profile three-year partnership with the Esports World Cup Foundation in 2024 to bring events to Riyadh, the 2025 season saw a split format: the “Decade Awards” were held in Saudi Arabia in August, while the main 10th-anniversary gala returned to Las Vegas in November. The 2026 announcement confirms that the primary ceremony will remain in North America, maintaining the organisation’s presence in one of its most established markets.

Following the announcement, The Esports Radar reached out to the organisation for clarification regarding the geographical choice, specifically whether the current regional situation in the Middle East or upcoming plans for the Esports Nations Cup (ENC) in late 2026 influenced the decision to keep the ceremony in the United States.

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In contact with The Esports Radar, a representative for the Esports Awards explicitly denied that external regional tensions or secondary tournament calendars played a role in the selection. “The current situation in the Middle East has had no impact on the decision,” the organisation stated, adding that the move to North America “has been in the works since late 2025 with no connection to any plans being made for 2026.”

The organisation further explained that the return to North America is based on the region’s proven track record as a hub for the global esports community. “The reasons for bringing the awards back to North America is down to it being a tried and tested location that has seen fantastic events for us attended by a wide breadth of the industry,” the Esports Awards team noted.

This aligns with the organisation’s history of high-attendance galas in cities like Arlington, Texas, and Las Vegas, which have traditionally served as central networking points for Western stakeholders.

Further updates regarding the specific venue, date, and the opening of community voting are expected in the coming months.

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