Counter-Strike focused esports media outlet HLTV has announced details for its upcoming HLTV Awards Show 2023, set to take place on January 13th, 2024 in Belgrade, Serbia.
The event will see HLTV present awards for the most notable Counter-Strike players of 2023, divided into several categories, including team of the year and coach of the year. Betting company 1XBet will be the main partner of the event.
The upcoming event will be the third HLTV Awards Show to take place live, in a similar fashion to other industry awards shows. The media company is most famous for its coverage of Counter-Strike, and its annual list of top Counter-Strike players is well-regarded in the industry.
The best player of the year will be presented during the HLTV Awards in January, after all other players have been announced via HLTV’s website and social media. Along with the best overall player, the event will present awards in several other categories.
It is important to note that both the CS:GO and CS2 results will be included for this year, since both games will hold competitive events in 2023. Further information is expected in the following weeks and months.
The awards will be divided into three segments. The Panel Awards will be awarded by a panel of 20 pro players, 10 talent and five members of the HLTV staff, and determine the best in each CS role, such as best AWPer or best in-game leader.
The HLTV awards will be awarded to rookie of the year, women’s and men’s teams of the year, as well as best player in both women’s and men’s CS. A notable addition this year is the community awards, with HLTV noting that the segment will “shine the spotlight on important elements of the Counter-Strike ecosystem outside the server.”
The biggest Counter-Strike award show returns 🏅
Announcing HLTV Award Show 2023 presented by @1xBet_Esports pic.twitter.com/NNCbQOvy4L
— HLTV.org (@HLTVorg) October 13, 2023
Zvonimir Burazin, Head of Operations at HLTV.org, commented on the announcement: “We are thrilled to announce the HLTV Award Show for 2023, our second one with a live audience, and third one in total.
“The show is a natural evolution of our HLTV Top 20 players of the year list, which has been recognizing the best Counter-Strike has to offer since 2010. I believe that history is exactly what makes this event unique: the awards weren’t created so we could justify making a show, it is exactly the opposite. The show was the only way we could properly celebrate these players and teams for their historic achievements.”
Burazin said the choice of Belgrade as the location is due to the fact that the company wants to reward the best teams with bootcamp time, and Belgrade is the perfect place to do so. The city was also a major factor in helping CS:GO events survive the COVID-19 pandemic, with a large number of teams playing from Belgrade during the lockdown.
