VALORANT Makes History With Sports Emmy Victory4 min read
Recently, VALORANT has just secured a Sports Emmy Award.
At the 46th Annual Sports Emmy Awards, Valorant won the Sports Emmy for Outstanding Esports Championship Coverage. This award recognized Riot Games’ broadcast of the 2024 VALORANT Champions Grand Final between EDward Gaming and Team Heretics.
It marked Riot’s sixth Emmy in total, but the first ever for VALORANT. It was something amazing for millions of fans of Valorant as well as for Riot.
Historical Win for Riot Games
Riot Games has been a pioneer in esports production for years. Its productions of League of Legends Worlds are already the stuff of legend.
But this time, all the attention was on VALORANT. The victory wasn’t just a testament to broadcast quality because it was a celebration of the maturity of a young competitive scene that now stands shoulder to shoulder with the global gaming behemoths.
The last match was dramatic as well as intense and it lasted the full five games, with EDward Gaming narrowly overcoming Team Heretics.
The showing of the result was dramatic, but the broadcast made it cinematic. The Sports Emmy judges picked up on the storytelling, the coverage of the players, and the emotion on show.
Career Defining Moment
The production crew who worked on the victory comprised 88 members. Top names such as Leo Faria, John Needham, Yinsu Collins, and Karel Keim spearheaded the effort.
Each camera shot, cut, and bite was perfected. Viewers didn’t merely watch a match, they were immersed in it.
Karel Keim described it as a career highlight. “There is no secret how much I love VALORANT” he posted online. He admired the storytelling, the innovation, and the heart behind the scenes. The award was the culmination of all that.
VALORANT Esports Continues
The award was more than a trophy, it was validation for a scene that’s grown rapidly since 2020. The 2024 Champions Grand Final broke the franchise’s viewership record, peaking at 1.44 million live viewers. That’s 120,000 more than the previous year.
Hosted at the INSPIRE Arena in Incheon, South Korea, the competition was the first VALORANT Champions event in the Pacific. It introduced global reach, cultural diversity, and a hunger for elite-level FPS action. Riot provided just that.
Competition Was Tough
This year’s Sports Emmy had strong contenders and the competition was really tough. Especially, when you titles in the nominees like:
- Call of Duty League Championship Weekend
- Dota 2’s The International 2024
- IEM Cologne 2024 Grand Final
- League of Legends Worlds 2024 Final
Among all of them, Valorant stood out. While Riot’s League of Legends team has won four times before, this win marked VALORANT’s debut victory.
With this victory, Riot showed that their production excellence isn’t tied to just one title.
Leo Faria who is Riot’s Global Head of VALORANT Esports, accepted the award and gave credit to everyone involved.
He added “Everything we do is for and about players”. That sentiment also carried the show througout.
Recognition for Esports
The Sports Emmy award category for esports began in 2019. Riot took the first one in 2020. But it’s not common for a first-person shooter broadcast to get this kind of recognition.
For VALORANT to take it in a category dominated by franchise heavyweights is a giant leap for FPS esports. However, the honor isn’t predicated on the quality of gameplay. It’s determined by how good the coverage depicts the competition.
These are player reactions, what happens in the game, host input, and viewer participation. VALORANT did all of it.
Valorant On Global Scale
This Emmy has worldwide significance. It’s a message that VALORANT esports is officially in the major leagues. From North America to Asia, and Europe to Brazil, it rings through.
It encourages production teams, players, and organizations to create world-class events. One of the production team members on the show, Jakub Szmyt, is from Ireland. His award symbolizes the UK and European competitive gaming scenes, which are quickly improving in quality and breadth.
What’s Next for VALORANT Esports?
The VALORANT Champions next month will be held in Paris, from September 12 to October 5, 2025. The anticipation is running high. The Emmy victory creates a new benchmark.
All cameras, all shoutcasts, all moments need to live up to the same excellence now. Your fans will be anticipating magic. Riot has shown that they can deliver.
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