VALORANT made history by winning its first Sports Emmy Award in the category of Outstanding Esports Championship Coverage for the 2024 VALORANT Championship Grand Finals broadcast. The finale featured a thrilling match between EDG and Team Heretics, which was ultimately won by the Chinese esports organization.
This win marks Riot Games’ sixth Sports Emmy overall in the category, with its previous win coming for the League of Legends World Championship (Worlds).
The Sports Emmys, hosted by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS), honors outstanding work in the American sports television industry. The Best Esports Championship Coverage category was introduced in 2019 to recognize high-quality coverage of esports events for viewers. For the award, VALORANT beat out four other nominees, including the 2024 Call of Duty League Championship Weekend, The International 2024 Dota 2, IEM Cologne 2024 Grand Finals, and League of Legends Worlds 2024 Grand Finals.
Riot Games said on LinkedIn that the recognition is a testament to the growth of VALORANT Esports, the ion of the team behind the event, and the global community of VALORANT players who want to see the best of the best compete. They also thanked the players, fans, and Rioters who helped bring the event to life. The award-winning broadcast was brought to life by a talented team of 88 , including Leo Faria, John Needham, Yinsu Collins, and Kevin Bell.
Associate Director Karel Keim took to social media to express how much he loves VALORANT and is grateful to be a part of a team that continues to push the boundaries of storytelling, competition, and innovation in esports. He also expressed his deep respect for everyone who makes this possible, from the production team, broadcasters, game developers, all the players, to the fans who bring it all to life.
The VALORANT Champions 2024 Grand Finals were held at the INSPIRE Arena in Incheon, South Korea, and were the first Champions event to be held in the Pacific region. The tournament recorded a peak viewership of 1.4 million, breaking the previous year’s record of 120,000 viewers, underscoring the global impact and widely recognized quality of the production.
