The Esports Awards announced the inductees for 2023 Lifetime Achievement in Esports award, which honors those industry professionals who have dedicated their lives to improving the industry.
This year’s Lifetime Achievement inductees include Dignitas Co-Founder Michael “Odee” O’Dell, 38x Call of Duty Champion Ian “Crimsix” Porter, esports host and MLG.tv VP of Programming Chris Puckett, Team Liquid Co-Founder and retired professional StarCraft: Brood War player Victor “Nazgul” Goossens, professional Quake player Shane “rapha” Hendrixson, RTS professional player (Warcraft III, Age of Empires and StarCraft II) Manuel “Grubby” Schenkhuizen, legendary StarCraft player Lee “Flash” Young Ho, and longtime Riot Games executive and Co-Founder Marc Merrill.
The class of 2023 joins previous inductees including professional gamer & serial entrepreneur Dennis “Thresh” Fong, FlyQuest Chief Culture Officer and professional CS:GO player Stephanie “missharvey” Harvey, and former ESL FACEIT Group Chairman and co-CEO Ralf Reichert (now in charge of the Esports World Cup Foundation), among others.
In addition to revealing the 2023 Lifetime Achievement in Esports award inductees, the Esports Awards announced that luxury car maker Lexus returns as a sponsor in 2023. Marking five years as a presenting partner (the company began its journey as a regular sponsor in 2019), this year Lexus sponsors both the Esports Awards “Streamer of the Year” and “Esports Organization of the Year.” As part of this year’s presentation, Lexus will showcase a “never-before-seen custom vehicle in the brand-new Esports Awards village in Resorts World Las Vegas” during the event in addition to signage at the event, branding on broadcasts, and other marketing efforts through social media and other media channels.
