Japanese Esports Award Nominees For Best Fighting Game Player Revealed

The Japanese Esports Awards is an annual event that celebrates the best in Japanese esports and the players that have been remarkable for that calendar year. 

This year's award will be the inaugural one and it promises to be a large affair. Tickets are already being sold and there is an estimation that a large turnout can be expected as fans pour in to support their favourites. 

The nominees for the best fighting game player has been announced and the seven-man list features five Street Fighter players and one from Tekken and Super Smash Bros. respectively. 

The nominees are:

• Daigo
• Tokido
• Fuudo
• Kakeru
• Acola
• Ao
• Dogura

Kakeru in particular has had an eye-catching year winning the Last Chance Qualifier at Red Bull Kumite and dropping out in the Semi Final to eventual winner, Big Bird in the tournament proper. He made top 6 at Evo, won the Gamers8 Invitational and Blink Respawn in the Dominican Republic. 

Unable to qualify for Capcom Cup just yet, he is still considered one of the most promising talents to have arisen out of Japan in the past year. 

The voting process starts today and will run till the 15th of January 2024. However, it does seem that the voting is limited to LINE users. LINE is the popular choice for communication in Japan and the voting will require any user to click on the official LINE account of the Japanese Esports Award. 

The event will take place on the 25th of January 2024.