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2022 is just about in the books, which means it's time to take a look back and recognize the best of the best. The Game Awards and Esports Awards have passed, but I think we all know that the truly prestigious awards come from all of us here at Esports Illustrated. We don't need fancy red carpet affairs, or Oscar award winning presenters for us to feel important. We're just a group of geeks who like to play video games, and these are some of the games and individuals we felt were worthy of recognition this year.

Esports Athlete of the Year

  • Kali Scales - Editor in Chief - Deft (DRX Esports)
  • Nafeeza Hassan - VP Esports Illustrated - Deft (DRX Esports)
  • Scott Zackman - Manager Esports Illustrated - Jaccob "Yay" Whiteaker (Cloud9)
  • Zack Patraw - Webmaster - Seth "Scump" Abner (OpTic Texas)
  • James Hammerstedt - HR Manager - Kismet (New York Subliners)
ATLANTA, GEORGIA - OCTOBER 30: Kim "Deft" Hyuk-kyu of DRX (L) and Park "Ruler" Jae-hyuk of Gen.G prepare to make a grand entrance at the League of Legends World Championship Semifinals on October 30, 2022 in Atlanta, GA.

Deft and Faker at Worlds 2022

Esports Team of the Year

  • Kali Scales - DRX Esports
  • Nafeeza Hassan - LA Thieves
  • Scott Zackman - Gen G
  • Zack Patraw - LA Thieves
  • James Hammerstedt - New York Subliners

Developer of the Year

  • Kali Scales - FromSoftware
  • Nafeeza Hassan - Respawn Entertainment
  • Scott Zackman - Activision Blizzard
  • Zack Patraw - Activision Blizzard
  • James Hammerstedt - Infinity Ward

Esports Event of the Year

  • Kali Scales - Worlds 2022
  • Nafeeza Hassan - Worlds 2022
  • Scott Zackman - RLCS Finals
  • Zack Patraw - CDL Major December
  • James Hammerstedt - CDL Major December
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - NOVEMBER 05: A general view inside Chase Center during the League of Legends World Championship Finals between T1 and DRX on November 05, 2022 in San Francisco, California.

Esports Title of the Year

  • Kali Scales - VALORANT
  • Nafeeza Hassan - APEX Legends
  • Scott Zackman - Rocket League
  • Zack Patraw - Call of Duty
  • James Hammerstedt - Call of Duty

Game of the Year

  • Kali Scales - Elden Ring
  • Nafeeza Hassan - God of War: Ragnarok
  • Scott Zackman - Elden Ring
  • Zack Patraw - God of War: Ragnarok
  • James Hammerstedt - Elden Ring

And there you have it! Our picks for the best of the best in the year 2022! We've got a ton of great games and events to be excited about in the year 2023, so from all of us here at Esports Illustrated, have a happy new year!