Game Awards 2023 predictions: Will League Of Legends GOAT and face of eSports Faker bag the eSports Athlete of the Year award this year?

Can the LoL GOAT win the award this year?

Image via: Riot Games

Faker, a South Korean League of Legends pro, is one of the faces of LoL esports. He has been an active player for nearly a decade and shows no signs of stopping. He is still putting up stellar performances for his team and often carrying them to victory. The Game Awards recently announced their nominations, and they seem to have recognized his efforts.

eSports are essential to the competitive aspect of video games. Thus, the Game Awards wish to recognize and acknowledge this by creating an eSports athlete of the year award. The award nominates players across all games into a single award. While this has raised concerns about comparing different esports, it continues to be an extremely prestigious award.

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Can Faker become the eSports Athlete of the Year?

Faker seems like a clear favorite, with accomplishments unmatched by anyone in the League of Legends esports scene. This article compares T1’s mid-laner to the other nominees and analyses whether somebody can stop the South Korean professional.

Faker League of Legends — Image via: Riot Games

Not only is Faker a stellar individual, but he is also a great team player. He is highly loyal to his organization, possessing the longest tenure with a single team in LoL history. The award considers a player’s achievements in the past year. Faker bagged the gold medal for South Korea in the Asian Games, won LCK 1st All-Pro Team in Spring 2023, and became the first player to reach 800 games in the LCK.

The League of Legends World Championship finals will take place on November 19th, 2023. Faker is already in the grand finals. If he can lead T1 to victory, he will probably win the award despite the achievements of others on this list, thanks to huge numbers of fans who will vote for him. Regardless, let’s take a look at Faker’s competitors.

Ruler – League of Legends

Ruler is probably the easiest to compare to Faker, as they share the same eSport. He won the MSI 2023 to complete his quadfecta. He also won LPL Summer 2023 with the same team and was named LPL 1st All-Pro Team for the tournament. Additionally, he was Faker’s teammate in the Asian Games. The World finals determine who gets the edge between these two South Korean pros when it comes to the award.

ZywOo – CS: GO

ZywOo plays as the AWPer for Team Vitality and has been considered one of the greatest Counter-Strike players since his breakthrough in 2018. In 2023, he placed first in three consecutive tournaments, the Intel Extreme Masters Rio 2023, Blast.TV Paris Major, and Gamers8. He won over a million dollars for his team in these three tournaments alone and was named MVP for all three tournaments.

HyDra – Call of Duty

HyDra is a French Call of Duty pro named MVP for the Call of Duty League Regular Season 2023 and Stage 5 Major MVP. His team placed first in the COD Playoffs, winning them a million dollars. He also finished first in the Stage 5 major. While it is hard to compare COD to LoL, his achievements in such a cutthroat eSport speak for themselves.

ImperialHal – Apex Legends

After making a splash onto the scene in 2019, it is evident that this TSM player would become one of the greatest ever to do it. Not only did his team place first in the Split 1 Playoffs, but he also led TSM to win the entire ALGS championship in 2023. He was also named the MVP for the whole of the tournament. His improvement has been tremendous over the past year, and he seems like a completely different player from his former self.

Demon1 – Valorant

Demon1 may perhaps be the biggest hurdle standing in Faker’s way. His performance in VCT 2023 is unforgettable. He led the Evil Geniuses team to the world championship in one of the greatest underdog stories in eSports history and was rightly named MVP of the tournament. Additionally, he was also the runner-up in VCT Masters Tokyo. His stellar performance throughout the World Championship series deservedly makes him the strongest contender for the award.