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BAFTA Announces Nominations for AMD Esports Audience Award

20 February 2017
AMD Audience Award

Clash Royale, Counter Strike: Global Offensive, DOTA 2, League of Legends, Overwatch and Street Fighter V all shortlisted for the public vote at this year’s British Academy Games Awards

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts has announced today the shortlist of nominated esports games of 2016 for this year’s AMD Esports Audience Award. This is the only award voted for by the public presented at the British Academy Games Awards, taking place on Thursday 6 April at London’s Tobacco Dock.

The nominations for the AMD Esports Audience Award are:

  • Clash Royale
  • Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
  • Dota 2
  • League of Legends
  • Overwatch
  • Street Fighter V

Members of the public will be able to cast their votes from Monday 20 February until Thursday 30 March via www.amdesportsaward.com and will be able to engage in conversation with fellow voters by using the hashtags #AMDVote and #BAFTAGames.

The AMD Esports Audience Award aims to recognise and acknowledge the games that captured the hearts and imaginations of players and audiences over the past year in the esports space. Esports, also known as professional gaming, is a form of competitive gameplay consisting of individual players and/or teams, with tournaments often streamed live and available for fans to attend.

A panel of leading media, gaming and esports industry experts assembled the nominations and based their decisions on games that were accessible to professional gamers and viewers alike, engaging to watch, constantly evolving and aesthetically desirable.

Christian Dotzauer, Sr. Manager, Channel Marketing of EMEA & APJ said: “AMD is thrilled to continue our commitment to esports with this award and through our sponsorship of professional gaming teams such as Evil Geniuses and Splyce. AMD technology delivers superior performance for esports and offers the performance and stability to help esports athletes to stay on top of the competition and to help gamers who want to compete like them. This sponsorship is incredibly important to AMD and truly highlights our long term commitment to bringing the best technology to esports enthusiasts and gamers the world over.”

Nick Button-Brown, Chair of BAFTA’s Games Committee said:  “The British Academy Games Awards is about celebrating creativity and excellence of the very best of Games. Esports is such an exciting area of our industry, we are delighted to be able to celebrate, in our ceremony, the games that make esports great.  Esports players and viewers are such a huge community, it makes so much sense for the community to pick its own winner, and I look forward to seeing who the community votes for.”

The winner of the AMD Esports Audience Award will be announced at the British Academy Games Awards on Thursday 6 April, which will be live streamed on Twitch (@BAFTAGames) for all the latest news.

For further information:

Eleanor Pickering at BAFTA
T: +44 (0) 20 7292 5863
E: [email protected]

About the AMD Esports Audience Award Nominations:
www.amdesportsaward.com
#AMDVote #BAFTAGames

Clash Royale
Supercell / Supercell

Collect and upgrade dozens of cards featuring the Clash of Clans troops, spells and defenses you know and love, as well as the Royales: Princes, Knights, Baby Dragons and more. Knock the enemy King and Princesses from their towers to defeat your opponents and win Trophies, Crowns and glory in the Arena. Form a Clan to share cards and build your very own battle community. Lead the Clash Royale Family to victory!

Counter Strike: Global Offensive
Hidden Path Entertainment / Valve

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS: GO) expands upon the team-based action gameplay that it pioneered when Counter-Strike was first released in 1999. CS: GO features new maps, characters, weapons and updated versions of the classic CS content. Thanks to its marriage of individual skill and team strategy, CS: GO has become one of the leaders in the esports revolution - thrilling audiences worldwide.

DOTA 2
Valve / Valve

Dota is a competitive game of action and strategy, played both professionally and casually by millions of passionate fans worldwide. Players pick from a pool of over a hundred heroes, forming two teams of five players. Radiant heroes then battle their Dire counterparts to control a gorgeous fantasy landscape, waging campaigns of cunning, stealth, and outright warfare.

League of Legends
Riot Games / Riot Games

League of Legends is a fast-paced, competitive online game that blends the speed and intensity of an RTS with RPG elements. Two teams of powerful champions, each with a unique design and playstyle, battle head-to-head across multiple battlefields and game modes. With an ever-expanding roster of champions, frequent updates and a thriving tournament scene, League of Legends offers endless replayability for players of every skill level.

Overwatch
Blizzard Entertainment / Blizzard Entertainment

Overwatch puts players into two teams of six, with each player selecting one of several pre-defined hero characters with unique movement, attributes, and abilities; these heroes are divided into four classes: Offense, Defense, Tank and Support. Players on a team work together to secure and defend control points on a map and/or escort a payload across the map in a limited amount of time.

Street Fighter V
Capcom, Dimps / Capcom

The legendary fighting franchise returns with Street Fighter V! Powered by Unreal Engine 4 technology, stunning visuals depict the next generation of World Warriors in unprecedented detail, while exciting and accessible battle mechanics deliver endless fighting fun that both beginners and veterans can enjoy. Challenge friends online, or compete for fame and glory on the Capcom Pro Tour.

About BAFTA

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts is an independent charity that supports, develops and promotes the art forms of the moving image by identifying and rewarding excellence, inspiring practitioners and benefiting the public. In addition to its Awards ceremonies, BAFTA has a year-round programme of learning events and initiatives – featuring workshops, masterclasses, scholarships, lectures and mentoring schemes – in the UK, USA and Asia; it offers unique access to the world’s most inspiring talent and connects with a global audience of all ages and backgrounds. BAFTA relies on income from membership subscriptions, individual donations, trusts, foundations and corporate partnerships to support its ongoing outreach work. To access the best creative minds in film, television and games production, visit www.bafta.org/guru. For more, visit www.bafta.org.

About AMD

For more than 45 years AMD has driven innovation in high-performance computing, graphics, and visualization technologies ― the building blocks for gaming, immersive platforms, and the datacenter. Hundreds of millions of consumers, leading Fortune 500 businesses, and cutting-edge scientific research facilities around the world rely on AMD technology daily to improve how they live, work, and play. AMD employees around the world are focused on building great products that push the boundaries of what is possible. For more information about how AMD is enabling today and inspiring tomorrow, visit the AMD (NASDAQ: AMD) blog, Twitter pages.

About the Media Panel

The media panel was formed of leading media, gaming and esports industry experts, as well as featuring esports broadcasters and professional eSports team members. The panel debated over a vast list of esports games that were either released or updated between 1 January and 31 December 2016 in order to create the six nominated esports titles eligible for public vote.

AMD, the AMD Arrow logo, and combinations thereof are trademarks of Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.