It's time for the final ESPN Esports Award.
In 2016, esports athletes reached new heights, with some unlocking their inner potential and others compounding more moments, statistics and plays to their already impressive résumé of achievements. Legends were made, with some players achieving lifetime and career goals, including victories in front of tens of thousands of people.
From StarCraft II, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Super Smash Bros. and League of Legends, these five players stood out as the ones who had the best years.
Nominees
Coldzera
Moving into the former Keyd Stars lineup -- which was eventually snatched up by Luminosity Gaming in the summer of 2015 -- was the best career decision Marcelo "coldzera" David could've ever made. Well known in Brazil, coldzera became a staple in the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive community not just domestically, but internationally, as he dominated the competition and became one of the best riflers and secondary AWPers in the game.
His year with Luminosity Gaming, who moved over to SK Gaming in July, ended with winning titles at both of the year's major tournaments, MLG Columbus and ESL One Cologne. And to top it off, he consistently topped the KDA (kill/death/assist) lists, standing above some of the best overall ratings of Counter-Strike players at most tournaments. If teammate and captain Gabriel "FalleN" Toledo is the Counter-Strike puppet master, coldzera is his best in-game puppet.
-- Jacob Wolf
Faker
2016 turned out to be the final ride for Lee "Faker" Sang-hyeok and longtime partner Bae "Bengi" Seong-woong, but what a year it was. The two went out as they came in: world champions. After playing the part of bench warmer for large parts of the year, Bengi came off the woodwork in the final stages of the 2016 World Championships to help SKT T1 win its second world title in a row. Bengi, as always, did what he did best: opening the map for Faker, the MVP of the team, to make the plays needed to help SKT T1 succeed in the clutch.
While Faker more than enough fills this category by himself as one of the all-time greats in esports, this is a send off to the iconic duo that painted South Korea in gold during the past four years. Faker will continue on in his homeland, attempting to lead a recharged SKT T1 to a third straight world title and sixth overall South Korean championship, and Bengi will look to see how far he can go without Faker, rejoining former teammate Lee "Easyhoon" Ji-hoon in China on Vici Gaming.
-- Tyler Erzberger
Hungrybox
While this year's Super Smash Bros. Melee Rankings should place Adam "Armada" Lindgren at No. 1, Juan "Hungrybox" Debiedma's year was undeniably monumental and career-changing.
Coming into 2016, the Smash god came off the back of a victory against rival Armada at DreamHack Winter 2015, finally breaking his losing streak against his constant adversary. Then he repeated this feat several times. First at Battle of the Five Gods and then where it mattered more, the Evolution Championship Series. Mix those results in with other victories against Joseph "Mang0" Marquez and Jason "Mew2King" Zimmerman and you have a good year for Hungrybox.
To top it all off, he double-downed at the end of the year, quitting his engineering job and moving into Smash Bros. full time, something very few have been able to do. If 2016 is any indication of his potential, then fear the Box in 2017.
-- Jacob Wolf
Byun
Having a nickname as cool as "One Man Army" should already be enough to put you in the running for the Player of the Year. But Byun Hyun-woo's year was much more than just a player defying the odds; he won major gold for the first time, taking home South Korea's most prestigious tournament in the Global StarCraft League before going on to win the World Championship at BlizzCon in Anaheim, California. After a career of twist and turns -- at one point it looked like he'd retire and never be seen again -- this was the pinnacle of Byun's odyssey.
-- Tyler Erzberger
ZeRo
Fifty-six wins in a row made Super Smash Bros. for Wii U's Gonzalo "ZeRo" Barrios one of the best players of the year in 2015. And he makes this list for 2016 as well because despite some bumps in the roads and not nearly as perfect of a record, ZeRo stood tall, overcame health issues and character nerfs, and continued to compete at a high level in 2016.
It's true, he didn't win Community Effort Orlando or the Evolution Championship Series, two of the most important events of the year in Smash for Wii U. With first-place finishes at Genesis 3, PAX Arena and 2GGT: EE Saga mixed with victories at Endgame, Shine, 2GGT: Abadango Saga, The Big House 6 and UGC Smash Open, ZeRo proves he's the most consistent in the game.
-- Jacob Wolf
Winner: Byun
With the death of Proleague, StarCraft II was on its last legs. Teamless players competed at tournaments, unsure if it would be their last. StarCraft needed a hero to rally behind, and Byun became that hero. He did something no one on this list did -- he completely rewrote his legacy.
With StarCraft II seemingly imploding around him, Byun walked a path others feared - that of a steadfast, teamless player. When it came time for BlizzCon, the script flipped - he had a team, and the superstars didn't. You can read more about why we chose him here.