Who deserves the best esports PC player of the year award?

As part of the annual Esports Awards, the PC Player of the Year is a category that spotlights the best individual who was invaluable for their team’s success during their competitive season. Out of all the categories, the best esports PC player of the year race is hotly debated because it pits elite talent from different titles against each other to win it all.

Instead of comparing which esport matters more, we’ll talk about the impact of their big wins and achievements within their scene. With that context set, let’s meet the names who defined PC esports in 2025.

The Esports Awards is an annual awards show that aims to honor “the players, creators, and innovators who define the future of competitive gaming”. First established in 2016, the ceremony will continue with 21 categories to be awarded on November 19, 2025, in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Fans can vote every day until November 12th, 2025. For most categories, the public vote is worth 25% while the panel counts for the other 75% to balance out popularity and expert opinion. 

Last year, League of Legends goat Faker won the award against heavy hitters like StarCraft 2’s Serral, Dota 2’s Yatoro, VALORANT’s TenZ, and CS2’s m0NESY.

There are nine candidates spread over six esports games for this year’s best esports PC player of the year award. We see Chovy, donk, and ZywOo as deserving returning nominees for the award. Additionally, Malr1ne won the best Esports Breakthrough Player of the Year award, given to new players in the scene.

Based on the amount of big wins and personal performance this year, it’s ZywOo’s award to lose. No one stacked headline wins and MVPs across 2025 like Vitality’s AWPer.

His team would go on a historic 30-game win streak (37 if only counting series) and capped it off with a win in the Austin Major, where he also received his seventh MVP of the year and his second Major MVP. Because of his consecutive MVPs, ZywOo blazes ahead of two legends: s1mple and dev1ce.

The best argument against ZywOo is that Vitality is filled with other standout players whom he can rely on when he’s not performing up to expectations. But that’s dismissing ZywOo’s consistency and his own share of clutches and swings that kept the team alive during rough finals. Additionally, ZywOo is one of the few AWPers in CS2 who are just as comfortable fragging with a rifle.

If anyone keeps it honest, it’s Chovy and donk. Chovy piloted Gen.G to MSI 2025 with Finals MVP, then added the Esports World Cup title, and strung together a record-setting 27-series win streak before LCK playoffs and Worlds, breaking T1’s 24-win LCK era. 

Unfortunately, Gen.G weren’t able to carry their hot streak into Worlds and left the tournament in the semifinals. Chovy’s poor performance during their crucial series diminishes their otherwise amazing run in 2025.

Meanwhile, donk is the most terrifying individual on any server. He’s your favorite pro player’s favorite pro player with all the amount of respect he gets from his peers. Donk has singlehandedly solo-carried Team Spirit to become one of the top teams in CS2, and even if they’re not winning, he’s pushing monstrous stats on the tournament. 

His aggressive playstyle is fun to watch and sets a new standard for entry fragging. Out of all the candidates in this list, donk’s fearless peeking and smooth movement have heavily influenced CS2’s players.

The rest of the shortlist had great individual stories and one-off victories without the same dominance the first three players had.

In Dota 2, the esports season was a parity year where different teams were winning tournaments. At TI, Team Falcons finally claimed the Aegis, and although Malr1ne was a key part of their success, ATF was the real star of the team. Malr1ne was the best midlaner last year, but now the competition has stepped up with gpk, No[o]ne, and even bzm. 

Meanwhile, Tundra’s Whitemon remains as one of the smartest supports in the game in a position that traditionally has a lesser impact. However, his unfortunate visa issue kept him from going to TI and hurt his credentials at the worst possible time. 

Post-TI Tundra is finding great success with their line-up, and Whitemon is thriving with his new duo, and if they keep this momentum up, you could expect to see him return as a candidate next year. 

In Overwatch 2, Stalk3r had a glittering high with Falcons during the OWCS – Asia Stage 1 Main Event, and then a runner-up finish in Champions Clash after that. However, he’d disappear from pro play for the rest of the year after only participating in four tournaments. Stalk3r was absent when Falcons won in EWC 2025, all the way from LCQ, leaving Proper to win MVP instead.

In VALORANT, the rookie brawk deserves his MVP award when NRG won Champions 2025, but as it’s their only significant win, it doesn’t stack up to the rest of the candidates. However, a quick look at the candidates for Esports Breakthrough Player of the Year shows that he is the favorite.

Individually, F0rsakeN does have a more consistent track record for this year and deserves bonus commendation for leading the most chaotic team in the scene, but a LAN win is overshadowed by Paper Rex’s top four finish in both Champions and EWC.

Finally, Jv92’s switch from console to PC has proven to be a massive success as his individual performance has made FURIA the most exciting team to watch in Rainbow Six Siege. The team dominates domestically and even snagged an international title, but was so close to winning two International titles to cement their season.

When you stack a year’s worth of trophies, individual performances, and the moments that decided their biggest wins, Vitality’s AWPer more than deserves this award. ZywOo is the centerpiece to Vitality’s legendary winning streak, and while they’ve become beatable, their recent win shows that they’re still the strongest team going into the Budapest Major.

That being said, there’s still time to rewrite the script, and it’s all up to Chovy and Gen.G to win League of Legends’ most important esports event.