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The HLTV Award Show, presented by 1xBet, has awarded Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut the coveted Player of the Year award for a record-breaking third time. ZywOo, along with Team Vitality, who also won the Team of the Year award, have been a force to be reckoned with in 2023, having won the last-ever CS:GO Major in Paris. The French player also took home more accolades than anyone else this evening, winning AWPer of the Year and Highlight of the Year in the Panel Awards.

The HLTV Award Show, the most prestigious awards show in Counter Strike, has seen some of the best talent in Counter Strike recognised for their fantastic contributions to the sport and the community. This included Nigma Galaxy winning Women’s Team of the Year, the ever-popular Nikola “NiKo” Kovač winning Opener of the Year, and Danny “zonic” Sørensen for Coach of the Year. Robin “ropz” Kool also achieved his highest HLTV ranking this year by placing in the top three, and also taking home the Closer of the Year Award.

On display at the award show was HLTV’s first ever photo exhibition, consisting of 75 photos spanning the entire history of Counter Strike, carefully selected by HLTV journalist and photographer, Lucas Aznar Miles.

The top 20 players from the past year were also gifted custom keycaps, so that players can take them away and actively play with a piece of CS history, and was also featured on HLTV’s Instagram page.

These awards stand as a beacon of recognition for the outstanding achievements and contributions within the competitive Counter-Strike community. Now closing off its third edition, the HLTV Award Show is a curated program that showcases the pinnacle of skill, dedication, and sportsmanship in the world of Counter-Strike.

The winners for the HLTV Awards in each category are as follows:

Player of the Year

• Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut

Women’s Player of the Year

Team of the Year

Women’s Team of the Year

Rookie of the Year

The Panel Awards were voted on by community peers including five members of HLTV’s newsroom, ten on-air talent members, and 20 representatives from the best teams of 2023. The winners of the Panel Awards are as follows:

Highlight of the Year

• Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut

Opener of the Year

Closer of the Year

Anchor of the Year

AWPer of the Year

• Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut

IGL of the Year

• Dan “apEX” Madesclaire

Coach of the Year

• Danny “zonic” Sørensen

The winners of the Community Awards voted on by members of the HLTV community are as follows:

Talent of the Year:

• Chad “⁠SPUNJ⁠” Burchill

Event of the Year:

Creator of the Year:

Streamer of the Year:

“This year’s awards were a fantastic celebration of excellence, and ZywOo is very deserving of the Player of the Year Award. His exceptional performance in 2023 has not only solidified his status as a standout player but will also make a lasting impact on the history of competitive Counter Strike. Congratulations to all the winners and nominees who have all contributed to the community and we look forward to welcoming them back next year, as we gear up for another year of memorable moments in Counter-Strike.” – Zvonimir Burazin, Head of Operations, HLTV

For more information and highlights from this year’s award show, check out the HLTV Award Show page.

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