The Esports Hall of Fame is preparing to induct its newest members into the ring of honor with a diverse cast of some of the greatest esports players headling this year’s community award.
The community vote lets fans decide who out of the selected group of finalists make it into the Hall of Fame so they can be rewarded for their achievements and contributions to the world of esports.
This year, the field features players from five different scenes, with two of the more niche scenes getting some representation on one of esport’s biggest stages. The five players up for the award are Adam “Armada” Lindgren, Bruce Grannec, Tomy “Potti” Ingermarsson, Shane “Rapha” Hendrixson, and Dave “Walshy” Walsh.
Armada is one of the greatest Super Smash Bros. Melee players of all time, with multiple wins at major events like Evo, DreamHack, Summit, and Genesis. For nearly a decade, Armada was one of the gatekeepers for other Melee players—the one player who other competitors would have to beat to even make it close to the finals of any big tournament.
The Swedish Peach main was ranked the best Melee player in the world in 2011, 2012, 2015, and 2016, while taking the second rank in 2013, 2014, 2017, and 2018 before retiring shortly after Evo 2018. Known as one of the “Five Gods of Melee,” Armada is one of the best to ever play.
Grannec is also from one of the more niche esports communities: FIFA. After leaving the competitive Pro Evolution Soccer scene, Grannec became a mainstay of competitive FIFA, putting together 118 tournament wins, including two World Championship wins at the FIFA Interactive World Cup in 2009 and 2012.
Potti, another Swedish esports legend, is one of the greatest Counter-Strike 1.6 players of all time and helped found Ninjas in Pyjamas. He’s one of the original esports superstars, dominating the CS scene from 2000 to 2005. He attended 15 Cyberathlete Professional League events, making it into 12 finals and never placing outside of the top four. Known for his ability to clutch out wins no matter the situation, his highlight reels are still the stuff of legend even as CS has moved into a new era since his retirement in 2006.
Widely considered the greatest Quake player in the world, Rapha claimed the DreamHack Winter 2018 title to cement his position at the top. Over a decade into his career, Rapha has remained dominant and is now known as “The King of Quake.” After taking the highest honor by winning QuakeCon five times in both individual and team tournaments, there are very few who can question Rapha’s legacy as the best.
Finally, Walshy earned the title of “Captain Clutch” during his early career by dominating one-vs-one and free-for-all Halo competitions. As he integrated further into the Halo pro scene, Walshy became one of the best players in the team circuit too, winning a record nine MLG events between October 2004 to July 2005—a record that still stands to this day. By the time he retired and started commentating in 2012, Walshy had won 23 Majors, including three World Championships in 2004, 2005, and 2007.
All five of these players are considered among the top of their craft and would fit right in with last year’s winner, League of Legends superstar Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok.
The only complaint some fans have about the voting process is the apparent bias to games like Counter-Strike and Quake. As of now, five of the seven inductees fit into one of those categories, with the class of 2019—Lim “BoxeR” Yo Hwan and Jang “Moon” Jae Ho—representing a different game, StarCraft.
Whoever wins the community vote award will be honored live on stage during ESL One Hamburg in October. Voting can be done on the Hall of Fame’s official website and is open until Sept. 30.
