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At The Game Awards 2025, the esports community once again took center stage as premier competitors, teams, and titles were celebrated alongside gaming’s biggest achievements.
This year’s honors highlighted not just peak individual performance and sustained team excellence, but also the evolving landscape of competitive gaming that continues to captivate global audiences and shape the future of the industry. From thrilling matches to unforgettable moments, the awards underscored the depth of talent and passion driving esports forward.
Here are our articles running down the nominees for each category.
Best Esports Athlete: Chovy
Jung Ji-hoon, popularly known as “Chovy”, is a South Korean mid-laner for the team Gen.G in the game League of Legends. He began his pro career in 2017, and has established himself as one of the most mechanically gifted and consistent players in the LCK, earning multiple MVP awards and finals appearances.
In 2025, Chovy continued his dominant run. He helped Gen.G complete an undefeated 18-0 run during the 2025 LCK Spring Split regular season. Later in the year he claimed the Mid-Season Invitational (MSI) title, being named Finals MVP. His personal accolade haul and his team’s success cemented 2025 as one of his strongest years to date.
Best Esports Team: Team Vitality (Counter-Strike 2)
Team Vitality is a major European esports organisation active in numerous titles, including Counter‑Strike 2 (CS2). They are widely regarded as one of the most successful teams in CS history with multiple S-tier and Major victories. Their CS2 roster, featuring stars such as Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut and Robin “ropz” Kool, has been central to their success.
In 2025, Team Vitality dominated like few others: they captured multiple major titles including IEM Katowice 2025, ESL Pro League Season 21, BLAST Open Lisbon 2025 and IEM Dallas 2025, while achieving a multi-tournament win streak and securing their second consecutive ESL Pro League crown. Their sustained excellence made 2025 a banner year and reinforced their place as the benchmark in CS2 competition.
Best Esports Game: Counter-Strike 2
Counter-Strike 2 is the modern iteration of Valve’s long running tactical first-person shooter franchise, following on from the hugely popular CS:GO. It remains centred around 5v5 matches, round‐based bomb plants/defuses, and high‐skill precision play. As a product it supports a global esports ecosystem of Majors, S-Tier tournaments and a strong professional scene built over many years.
In 2025 the CS2 scene has seen a significant uptick in major events and prize-pools. One of the standout tournaments was the Esports World Cup 2025 (CS2 edition) held in Saudi Arabia, with a $1,250,000 prize pool and 16 of the best teams all offline.
