The Korea e-Sports Association (KeSPA) announced that fan voting for the 2026 High1 Esports Awards, co-hosted with Sports Seoul, will run from November 9 to December 4. Voting covers the High1 Rookie of the Year Award and the Popularity Award, selecting four winners and one winner, respectively.
For the High1 Rookie of the Year Award, one winner from each of the four titles will be determined in the main round by combining fan voting and evaluation by a selection committee, weighted at 50% each. The Popularity Award will be based 100% on the main round fan vote, with a single winner chosen from among all nominees across all titles.
Fans can participate in the voting once per day via the my1pick app. The preliminary voting period runs from 11:00 AM on November 9 to 11:59 PM on November 19. The main round starts at 11:00 AM on November 23 and closes at 11:59 PM on December 4.
The Rookie of the Year Award nominees include all players who made their debut in their respective titles this year. Preliminary voting will be held only for PUBG MOBILE, with the top five vote-getters advancing as main round nominees. Voting for the remaining titles will proceed directly to the main round without a preliminary phase.
Nominees for the Popularity Award initially comprised players with domestic or international championship titles in 2026. For PUBG MOBILE, runners-up were also included to secure a sufficient pool of candidates. The selection committee narrowed down the preliminary nominees through internal voting up to a maximum of three times the roster size per title, or included all candidates if the initial pool was smaller. The top five players from each title's preliminary vote advance to the main round.
This year's awards cover four titles: Riot Games' League of Legends, KRAFTON's PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS and PUBG MOBILE, and Nexon Korea's FC Online. The awards are categorized into title-specific categories and overall categories.
In League of Legends, five Player of the Year awards (one per position) and one Coach of the Year award will be presented. For PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS and PUBG MOBILE, four Player of the Year awards and one Coach of the Year award will be awarded per title. FC Online will present awards for Player of the Year, Top Scorer, Best Play, and Coach of the Year to one recipient each. The overall category features five awards: High1 Rookie of the Year Award, Team of the Year Award, Popularity Award, Special Award, and the Esports Grand Prize.
The 2026 High1 Esports Awards was established to honor the achievements of players and teams active in domestic and international competitions and to highlight the accomplishments and value of the esports industry. It is co-hosted by KeSPA and Sports Seoul, with High1 participating as the title sponsor.
The awards ceremony will take place on December 17 at 3:00 PM at the Cube Convention Center in Mapo, Seoul. It will be broadcast live on KeSPA's SOOP and CHZZK channels, as well as the official YouTube channels of Sports Seoul and KeSPA, with further details to be announced later through KeSPA's official social media channels.
