HLTV has announced the nominees for the HLTV Awards presented by 1xBet, happening in Belgrade on January 10th, 2026. After the success of past events, the 2025 HLTV Awards are set to be the largest and most exciting yet.
Due to increased interest and a bigger program, the awards will take place in the Blue Hall of the Sava Centar, a famous venue in Belgrade. This new location allows for more attendees, increasing capacity from 600 to 1,000, while keeping the event exclusive and invite-only. Attendees will include top teams and content creators like Scream, Potti, Furia, Spirit, olofmeister, Cogu, Team Vitaliy, dona, Ohne, dimawallhacks, and others.
HLTV Awards Nominees
The HLTV Awards have three categories: Community Awards, Panel Awards, and HLTV-decided awards. Winners of the Panel Awards are chosen by a group of industry experts, including top broadcasters, players, coaches, and HLTV staff. The Community Awards are decided by HLTV readers through a vote that ends on December 31. The other HLTV awards are decided by the HLTV team.
The finalists for the Panel Awards will be announced on December 28, and the finalists for the Community Awards will be revealed on December 31. Some finalists, including those for the Women’s categories, have already been shared, with more to come in the following weeks.
Panel Awards
- Closer of the Year, presented by 1xBet
- Anchor of the Year, presented by 1xBet
- IGL of the Year, presented by 1xBet
- AWPer of the Year, presented by 1xBet
- Opener of the Year, presented by 1xBet
- Coach of the Year, presented by 1xBet
- Highlight of the Year, presented by 1xBet
Community Awards
- Talent of the Year, presented by 1xBet
- Freya “Freya” Spiers
- Harry “JustHarry” Russell
- Hugo “Hugo” Byron
- Jacob “Pimp” Winneche
- Chad “SPUNJ” Burchill
- Alex “Machine” Richardson
- James “BanKs” Banks
- Janko “YNk” Paunović
- Mohan “launders” Govindasamy
- Conner “Scrawny” Girvan
- Alex “Mauisnake” Ellenberg
- Tres “stunna” Saranthus
- Streamer of the Year, presented by 1xBet
- Creator of the Year, presented by 1xBet
- Event of the Year, presented by 1xBet
- Skin of the Year, presented by Skin.Club
- AWP | Ice Coaled (REINCARNATION)
- AWP | Printstream (JTPNZ)
- FAMAS | Bad Trip (HEWOK)
- Glock-18 | Shinobu (Horameow)
- M4A1-S | Liquidation (Mei)
- M4A4 | Full Throttle (dwern)
- MAC-10 | Cat Fight (Maloo)
- MAC-10 │ Derailment (Tolik_Wask)
- MP7 | Smoking Kills (48)
- UMP-45│Late Night Transit (cimota)
HLTV Awards
- Women’s Player of The Year, presented by 1xBet
- Women’s Team of The Year, presented by 1xBet
- Rookie of The Year, presented by HLTV
- TBA
- Team of The Year, presented by 1xBet
- TBA
- Player of The Year, presented by 1xBet
- TBA
HLTV Awards Conference presented by GRID
In addition to the awards, HLTV will host a one-day industry conference on January 9, bringing together the most influential voices in Counter-Strike. Presented by GRID, the HLTV Awards Conference will aim to celebrate the game, share insights, and foster education within the industry. The conference will focus on core topics including tournament production, the CS economy, and audience growth.
The confirmed panels and speakers are:
Behind the Big Stages
- Lucas Aznar Miles, HLTV (Host)
- Archer Wang, Esports Senior Director, Perfect World
- Anne Banschbach, Programme Director Valve and Development, BLAST
- Marc Winther, Director Esports – Counter-Strike, ESL FACEIT Group
One Year with VRS
- Chad “SPUNJ” Burchill, Commentator & Expert (Host)
- Fabian Logemann, VP of Tournaments & Content, GRID esports
- Graham “messioso” Pitt, Head of Operations, 100 Thieves CS
- Russel “Twistzz” Van Dulken, Pro Player, FaZe
Reaching the Audience
- Luis Mira, HLTV (Host)
- Per Lambæk, Founder, HLTV
- Ivan Filletti, CEO, Gaming Malta
- Jonas Gundersen, Founder & CEO, Fusion Esports Group
The CS Economy
- Janko “YNk” Paunović, Commentator & Expert (Host)
- Nikola Stolnik, CEO, Good Game
- Jan Dominicus, Chief Business Development Officer, MOUZ
- Jerome Coupez, Founder & CEO, Prodigy Agency
Hall of Fame Inductions
Raphael “cogu” Camargo, Yegor “markeloff” Markelov and Olof “olofmeister” Kajbjer will be inducted into the prestigious HLTV Hall of Fame, joining legends Patrik “f0rest” Lindberg, Christopher “GeT_RiGhT” Alesund, Emil “HeatoN” Christensen, and Tommy “Potti” Ingemarsson.
Each inductee will receive:
- A live induction ceremony during the HLTV Awards
- A Rolex watch featuring a Hall of Fame inscription
- A dedicated HLTV player profile
- Permanent recognition on the Hall of Fame page
- A commemorative article and video chronicling their career