Game Awards: League of Legends, Faker and T1 awarded, Arcane lost as the best adaptation

The 2024 Game Awards, held in Los Angeles on December 12, celebrated the year's finest achievements in video gaming. While Astro Bot took home the coveted Game of the Year title, the spotlight shone brightly on the esports scene, with victories for Faker, T1, and League of Legends. Meanwhile, Fallout triumphed over Arcane in the Best Adaptation category.

Spectacular shows, a professional circuit brimming with stories, a Worlds tournament featuring Linkin Park, and all the legendary names that contributed to League of Legends’ success this year—2024 has proven to be yet another exceptional year for the game. They have won the award for the fourth time after 2019, 2020, and 2021's success. Considering VALORANT took home the award in the past two years, Riot Games has now dominated this category for six consecutive years, showcasing its unparalleled ability to build a thriving esports ecosystem around its games. This year, they triumphed over contenders like Counter-Strike 2, DOTA 2, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, and even its own title, VALORANT.

Notably, the "Best Esports Event" category was absent this year—likely because the League of Legends Worlds had claimed the title six years in a row since its introduction in 2018.

After being inducted into the Hall of Fame and securing his fifth Worlds championship in 2024, Lee "Faker" Sang-hyeok was named Best Esports Athlete at the Game Awards for the third time (previously in 2017 and 2023). His only direct rival on League of Legends was Jeong "Chovy" Ji-hoon, widely regarded as the best player in the world this year. However, Chovy fell short when it mattered most—losing to Faker in the semifinals of the Worlds.

To everyone’s surprise, this is the first time T1 has won this award at the Game Awards. Widely regarded as the top organization in League of Legends, with 5 World Championship titles and over a dozen LCK victories, they now add another accolade to their already immense trophy collection. Once again World Champions this year, T1 capped off a stellar finish despite a tougher regular season in the LCK. The award seems to honor the consistency and longevity of a team and roster that has consistently been at the top since its inception, especially over the past three years, with three Worlds finals, two of which were back-to-back victories.

After the massive success of its first season in 2021, Arcane returned to conclude its story with a record-breaking second season. With a combined budget of $250 million across both seasons—unprecedented for an animated series—Arcane topped Netflix charts in around 65 countries worldwide during its premiere weekend, despite only three episodes being available initially. Backed by a devoted fanbase and groundbreaking animation techniques, the series was widely considered the frontrunner for the Best Video Game Adaptation award.

However, the award ultimately went to Fallout, a decision that can be understood for several reasons. Arcane began airing in November, with episodes released over three weeks, meaning the series was not fully available when the voting for the Game Awards took place. Given that 90% of the votes are cast by a jury and 10% by the public, this timing may have influenced the outcome. Furthermore, Arcane’s first season had already won the same award at the 2022 ceremony. These factors likely gave Fallout, which premiered in April to a warm reception and remained faithful to its source material, the edge to claim this year’s award.

This didn’t stop the series from taking center stage, with a live performance featuring d4vd, Royal & the Serpent, and Twenty One Pilots.

In many ways, this crowns a remarkable year for the esports scene of Riot Games' number-one title. The game remains one of the most popular worldwide, continually evolving with fresh content, including the exciting updates planned for the 2025 season. Moreover, it has thrived thanks to captivating storylines in its competitive circuit this year, which have been highlighted by the resurgence of ZOFGK at Worlds. At the heart of this success is Faker, now celebrated as potentially the greatest esports player of all time, across all games.