VALORANT has won its first-ever Sports Emmy Award in the ‘Outstanding Esports Championship Coverage’ category for the VALORANT Champions 2024 Grand Final broadcast.
The competition’s final notably featured a nail-biting matchup between EDward Gaming and Team Heretics, which ultimately led to the Chinese esports organisation walking out victorious.
This marks Riot Games’ sixth overall Sports Emmy win in this category, with previous victories for League of Legends’ World Finals broadcasts.
The Sports Emmys, presented by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS), recognises exceptional work in the American sports television industry.
The Outstanding Esports Championship Coverage category was introduced in 2019 to acknowledge high-quality coverage of esports events for the viewers.
The award featured four other nominees, including the 2024 Call of Duty League Championship Weekend, Dota 2’s The International 2024, IEM Cologne 2024 Grand Final and the League of Legends Worlds 2024 Final.
“This recognition is a testament to the growth of VALORANT Esports, the passion of the team behind this show, and the global community of VALORANT players who look to see the best of the best compete,” said Riot Games on LinkedIn. “Thank you to the players, fans, and Rioters who helped bring this show to life.”
A Big Win For VALORANT Esports Staff
The award-winning broadcast was brought to life by a talented team of 88 members, including Leo Faria, John Needham, Yinsu Collins, Kevin Bell, and many others.
“There is no secret how much I love VALORANT,” said Associate Director Karel Keim on social media. “I am so grateful to have been part of a team that continues to push the boundaries of storytelling, competition, and innovation in esports.
“Huge respect to everyone who made this possible — across production, broadcast, game dev, all the players and fans who bring it all to life.”
Held at Incheon’s INSPIRE Arena in South Korea, VALORANT Champions 2024 Grand Final was the first-ever Champions event hosted in the Pacific region. The tournament recorded a peak viewership of 1.4m, breaking the previous year’s record by 120,000 viewers.
