The eSports Award, which was founded in 2004, is the sole award that recognizes eSports performances from players and teams around the globe. The award has undergone a few changes and additions to make the awards make sense to the voting public.

The major additions are the addition of the best FPS Duel Player award, which had not been a category before but did not stop VoO from winning best player in 2005, the best Scene Journalist award, which recognizes the hard working people who do the thankless job of reporting eSports news for the world to see, and the Lifetime Achievement award. Other new categories include eSports Game of the year and Best Hardware.

Categories undergoing changes include making the best player awards specific to an event instead of an overall award, merging their two eSport sites awards into one category (combining both German and English categories), and a larger jury to participate in the nomination and selection process. Their new website is located at www.esports-award.org and contains more details about the award.

GotFrag had a chance to ask Alex Albrecht a few questions about the award.

Why the change from overall performance, to how the players performed in specific events? Was this a suggestion taken from the community or did it come from inside Turtle?

The search for worthy players always included an overwhelming amount of events. The feedback we received was that due to the mass event schedule no one could really grasp why one player was chosen and not another. So naming the events that will be regarded in the eSports Award adds transparency for the community and the fans out there. On the other hand it’s also an accolade for each event being accounted for in the eSports Award. And last but not least it’s great for the fans and the jury to scout for worthy performances and players.

Can you explain the process from nomination to winning an award? If I played in a tournament, how would I get nominated and, then if I was so lucky, to win an award?

To be nominated you have to show an extraordinary performance in one or even more of the events which will be announced by the eSports Award jury really soon. This is not just based on stats but also on your professional appearance and personal development. Close to the actual eSports Award ceremony at the Games Convention 2007 a jury of experts will vote on the nominations. Last year Michael "carmac" Blichardz, your very own Trevor "midway" Schmidt or Lam Hua host of the ESWC were part of the jury. This year’s jury will be organized a bit differently so stay tuned for that announcement.

What additional categories do you plan on adding to the award, and why do you feel additions are necessary? If you don't have any specific new categories at the moment can you give an idea as to what these new categories may or may not be?

In 2007 there will be five new categories. There are always lots of contributions to the eSports scene that should be rewarded. We feel that these five new categories cover a lot of these fields and projects. The first and foremost important will be the Scene Journalist Award. After adding an award for journalism last year we felt it was time to reward consistent in-depth work in the field of eSports. We decided to add the Best FPS Duel Player because this third large discipline of eSports was not part of the eSports award yet. However there are also other contributions to the scene. To reward outstanding game and hardware developers we will be adding the two categories "eSports Game of the Year" and "Best Hardware". And to crown the ceremony at Leipzig we will be giving out the first Lifetime Achievement Award.

Explain why the extended jury is important? What role does the jury primarily serve and who comprises the jury?

Extending the jury brings more expert opinions into the eSports Award. The jury serves a role during the nomination process as well as the actual prize awarding at the Games Convention. The people on the jury cannot be disclosed yet, but they will all be meeting one exclusive criterion.

Will the community awards be purely a vote on the eSports award website, or will it have some jury selection component? Do you plan on preventing people from interfering (mass mailings, etc.) in the community vote process?

Yes, the community award will be voted by the community solely on the eSports Award website. We feel that the community should have a large part in the eSports Awards, especially when it comes to evaluating the work of people that transfer eSports to them. We think that mobilizing your community is a valid measure to promote your own labor. It does show how you evaluate the eSports award for yourself. So there will be three categories voted by the community. "Best eSports Coverage" and "Best Scene Journalist" as well as the "eSports Game of the Year".