The Esports Awards took place earlier this month to celebrate the best of the best across various categories in the world of esports, from teams to plays, photographers to journalists, and we recently spoke with director and co-founder Tom Mercey and head of marketing Michael Ashford to hear about how the event was received.
"Early indications show that we had over five million live viewers. Certainly on Twitter alone we had over two million, and I think as an engagement figure from Twitter we're up to over 25 million, and they're engagements not impressions. So we're kind of, we know that we've got people who want to participate, that want to express an opinion," Mercey said.
"We've realised that there's an appetite for additional shows looking at the industry, going to different venues and locations that are complimentary to our partners, and really exploring the stories behind a lot more of our finalists. I think it's something we're really excited to build towards, and I think the physical location of our awards next year will be interesting to develop over the next couple of months."
"I really think the key one for us is we're going through a huge process at the moment of collating feedback, listening to those people that we hold dearest to us - the community and our panelists - and ensuring that we're building a product that people are proud of. I think that if we can continue to constantly reassess what we do and in some cases fast track elements of that, then I think we'll hopefully get to a product that will continue to grow."
Looking ahead Mercey also mentioned that the priority was to be "thoroughly inclusive", especially considering both Eastern and Western esports too, and Ashford added that it's important for the awards to have multiple touch points throughout the year rather than just focusing on the one ceremony.
The ambition isn't surprising, as the Awards have been very well-received already. Not only were big names in attendance to both host and receive awards, but there were 27 million audience engagements on the night, with over seven million views for post-awards content, covering over 100,000 hours watched across all platforms.
Did you watch the Esports Awards?