The Decade Awards ceremony, held alongside the Esports World Cup as part of the ‘Summer of Celebration’, saw an incredible 9.8 million votes cast by fans, celebrating esports and gaming’s most legendary figures in a landmark tribute to a decade of excellence.

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, August 24th, 2025: The most prestigious night in the esports calendar returned this evening, as the Esports Awards hosted their one-off special, the “Decade Awards”. Presented by Trevor “Quickshot” Henry, Jessica “JessGOAT” Bolden and Barney Banks, this year’s Decade Awards marked the Esports Awards’ 10th anniversary and honoured a decade of industry-defining achievements and trailblazers in esports across 14 different categories.

Among the evening’s standout honours was League of Legends superstar Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok, who was named Esports PC Player of the Decade, alongside his team T1, who were crowned Esports Team of the Decade, and their coach Kim “kkOma” Jeong-gyun, recognised as Esports Coach of the Decade. Riot Games were also at the forefront, receiving multiple accolades including Esports Publisher of the Decade, Esports Game of the Decade for League of Legends, and Esports Live Event of the Decade for the unforgettable League of Legends Worlds 2017 Championship.

Marking the grand finale of the Summer of Celebration, the Esports Awards delivered yet another iconic evening, with a star-studded roster of presenters taking to the stage to announce the winners. Highlights included legendary professional skateboarder Tony Hawk, Twitch sensation Tyler1, renowned content creator and Sidemen member Vikkstar, and multiple-time EVO champion Justin Wong.

Over the past decade, the esports scene has grown exponentially, with countless players, teams and creators contributing to its growth into the global phenomenon it is today. Tonight, the Decade Awards celebrated those who have defined the last ten years in esports, honouring the individuals, teams and organisations whose achievements have left a monumental mark on the industry. The complete list of Decade Awards winners is as follows:

• Esports Game of the Decade – League of Legends
• Esports Personality of the Decade – Matthew “Nadeshot” Haag
• Streamer of the Decade – Félix “xQc” Lengyel
• Esports Commercial Partner of the Decade – Intel
• Esports Content and Coverage Platform of the Decade – Liquipedia
• Esports Publisher of the Decade – Riot Games
• Esports Live Event of the Decade – League of Legends Worlds 2017
• Esports PC Player of the Decade – Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok
• Esports Breakthrough Player of the Decade – Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut
• Esports Controller Player of the Decade – Anthony “Shotzzy” Cuevas-Castro
• Esports Coach of the Decade – Kim “kkOma” Jeong-gyun
• Esports Team of the Decade – T1 – League of Legends
• Esports Organisation of the Decade – Team Liquid
• Esports On-Air Talent of the Decade – Eefje “Sjokz” Depoortere

“Over the past ten years, the growth in the esports industry has been incredible to see, and it’s been a great honour to recognise the icons who have contributed to its rise in popularity,” says Mike Ashford, CEO of the Esports Awards, “Tonight, we showed the world just how global and impactful esports has become, and celebrated the individuals and companies that have consistently driven its success. Congratulations to all the winners, and thank you to the esports community for your ongoing dedication and support.”

The Decade Awards is brought to you by the Esports World Cup, Oakley and Media Partner Hitmarker. The full stream can be found here: twitch.tv/esportsawards.

Jo Dennis, Chief Commercial Officer at Incline Gaming Marketing, on why service providers need to evolve their offerings in line with the ever-changing demands of the marketThe global online gambling industry is fast-moving, with revolution and evolution constantly driving things forward. The pace of change is reflected in the transitions operators and suppliers have gone through, not only since the inception of the industry, but just in the last few years.

This change can also be seen in the different service providers supporting operators and suppliers, and this includes marketing and creative agencies such as Incline Gaming Marketing.

Where once agencies would specialise in one or two areas, such as SEO or creative, in today’s highly competitive market, they have had to become full-service. And this is the approach we have taken at Incline Gaming Marketing.

We also ensured that we are more than just a service provider, and very much become an embedded partner in the business if that’s the level of support required.

Since being founded by industry veteran Peter Laverick back in 2020, we’ve added services organically and through acquisition (including the takeover of Random Colour Animal in 2024) to become a full-service digital marketing and creative partner focused exclusively on the regulated gambling industry.

We are not just a supplier of campaigns or assets; we run marketing operations end to end for our partners, functioning as part of their in-house team.

Our expertise covers everything from branding and web development to SEO, user acquisition and CRM, making us a one-stop shop for operators looking to launch brands or build even more equity in their current brand assets.

We break these services down into three connected disciplines that together form a complete managed marketing service. Let’s take a closer look at them.

User acquisition:

We plan, execute and optimise campaigns across Meta, Google, TikTok, Snapchat, Apple and programmatic networks, managing multi-million-dollar budgets. In fact, we’ve handled more than $75m in ad spend over the years.

As an approved Facebook Business Partner, we’ve been rated the most effective media buyer in North America’s online gaming sector, achieving a 99.9% efficiency score.

Our approach combines data-driven precision with creative excellence to acquire high-value players who fuel the entire customer ecosystem. It includes data-driven targeting, omni-channel execution, AI-enhanced optimisation, creative integration and real-time reporting.

Why does this approach work so well? Because more than 90% of sports betting handle in states like New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Michigan comes from online and mobile channels, and this makes mobile-first UA execution absolutely essential.

This trend isn’t unique to North America. Regulated markets continue to grow at pace: in Q1 2025, Great Britain’s online GGY rose 7% year-over-year to £1.45bn, led by slots revenue of £689m and record player activity. In 2024 overall, the UK’s online market delivered £6.5bn in GGY, up 2.8% year-over-year, despite tighter controls.

As markets expand, the opportunity grows too, and in our experience, personalised advertising can deliver a 5–8x ROI on spend and lift sales by more than 10%. It also allows operators to test and optimise creatives weekly, allowing them to achieve up to 50% higher CTRs compared to static creative sets.

Customer relationship marketing:

Our CRM specialists handle the full player lifecycle from onboarding and first-time deposit conversion to long-term retention and reactivation. We combine data-led segmentation with targeted offers and creative to grow lifetime value while controlling bonus spend.

Our approach includes lifecycle engagement, with carefully crafted personalised journeys that increase retention, reduce churn and maximise LTV, segmentation and targeting, multi-channel communication, real-time triggers and performance analysis.

This is a powerful combination and approach driven by real-time CRM interactions that can outperform scheduled campaigns by up to 50% in terms of immediate revenue uplift.

What’s more, players acquired via referral programs can have a 25% higher retention and LTV compared to organic or paid channels. Finally, personalised retention campaigns can reduce churn by up to 15% and boost repeat purchase frequency by up to 20%.

Creative:

Incline Gaming Marketing is a creative machine, producing more than 1,000 assets per month from brand identities and websites to broadcast-quality TV sports, slot game creatives, supplier content packs and conference materials.

We combine seasoned industry expertise with AI-powered tools and processes to execute at scale, delivering hyper-personalised, dynamically optimised campaigns that drive measurable results. Our weekly “best performer” analysis ensures fresh, data-based creative iterations that keep campaigns competitive in any and every market.

Our approach also takes in performance-driven design, data-led insights, AI-enhanced production, access to a creative library with more than 5,000 casino ad creatives tested for performance marketing, plus multi-format capability.

This approach is proven to work because personalised creative delivers up to 5x higher conversion rates compared to static, non-targeted creatives, while A/B testing assets can improve CTR by up to 50% and significantly extend campaign longevity.

We also know that creative refreshes can reduce cost-per-acquisition by up to 30% in performance-driven campaigns.

These have been our core service offerings for some time now, but given the ever-changing landscape, we have recently expanded into SEO and affiliate program management so that we can continue to support our partners in all aspects of their digital marketing and creative work.

When our partners win, we win – a saying that applies to the global online gambling industry. And that’s why at Incline, we never stand still and are always moving with the fast-slow of the sector, specifically when it comes to how our partners acquire and retain high-value customers at scale.

International holding PIN-UP Global is scaling up to become the RedCore business group. This move will enable the holding, which specialises in developing technological solutions for the iGaming industry, to realise its ambitious plans for expansion into new markets.

RedCore is an international business group that creates technological solutions for digital markets. Over the years, the company has expanded beyond iGaming and transformed into a diversified business group that operates far outside the confines of a single industry. RedCore has a well-structured management model and a strategic focus on growth. Our products and services cover fintech, marketing, e-commerce, customer service, communications and regulatory technologies. The business group develops applied solutions that help businesses scale, optimize processes, reduce costs, and meet the demands of highly regulated markets.

“Throughout our growth, it became clear that our potential goes far beyond a single industry. Currently, we bring together expertise and technology in various areas of digital business. iGaming remains a part of our experience — but now it’s just one of the areas where we innovate and drive progress,”— Marina Ilina, CEO and founder of the business group commented.

RedCore will be presented for the first time at the SBC Summit to be held on 16 to 18 September 2025 in Lisbon, at stand D185, where the business group will present its portfolio of B2B products and solutions.

RedCore retains the core operating principles that made PIN-UP Global a market leader. The business group remains true to its philosophy of leadership and constant progress, deep expertise in every area of activity, synergy and teamwork. Its focus on results and principles of open, honest communication with partners and employees remain unchanged.

The restructuring to RedCore opens new horizons of cooperation for existing and potential partners. The business group is ready to offer comprehensive technological solutions that go beyond traditional industry boundaries.