The UKI Awards 2025 is a celebration of the incredible talent in the CS2 grassroots scene. Hosted by Leyna “Affinity” McQuillin, this award show is separated into ten different categories, with the winners being announced at an in-person event on the 26th of April.

Some keen-eyed readers will have noticed that names like Ashley “ash” Battye and William “mezii” Merriman were left off the list for coach of the year and player of the year. This is because the award show is set up to be a celebration of the current active UK teams and players competing in grassroots events such as EPIC.LAN and UKIC. The exceptions are for talent of the year and creator of the year.

The UKIAwards nominations are based on performance over the past year to the present date. Therefore, EPIC.LAN 44 and UKIC Season 5 were taken into consideration for nominations and voting.

Moreover, members of the UKCSGO team have been nominated for certain awards. To clear up any confusion, the nominations and voting process were done by a separate voting panel, chosen by Affinity, which we are not involved in.

The event will be hosted at the University of Staffordshire in front of a live audience. Affinity will be hosting the award show, going through the categories and announcing a winner for each. You can watch the award show unfold from 3 pm onwards today on Twitch here:

As all the nominees have been announced, UKCSGO is proud to announce that we will be the official media partner for the @UKIAwards 2025

The show starts tomorrow at 3 pm, so make sure you don’t miss any content we will be posting! pic.twitter.com/TAOH4zcGHv

— UKCSGO (@ukcsgo) April 25, 2025

AWPer of the year nominees

Tom “arTisT” Clarke: The Irish AWPer has been an instrumental part in ALASKA’s dominance in the UK CS scene over the last 10 months. arTisT didn’t AWP the whole of 2024 as between April and early December, he gave up the big green as they signed Remi “Diviiii” Alexandre. However, when returning to the AWP ALASKA/Verdant won two UKIC Finals, EPIC.LAN 44 and the European Pro League 2nd Division Season 18. arTisT alongside winning all of these events picked up the MVP award in both UKIC Finals.

Joe “dexie” Demmon: After not playing in the first portion of 2024, dexie returned to UK CS on with Halal 5, which later became Belfast Storm. This squad made back-to-back playoff appearances in UKIC Division 1 playoffs in Seasons 2 and 3. But the highlight came in Season 4 as Belfast Storm made it all the way to the Grand Finals. They did end up losing this match to Verdant, but dexie still put up an impressive 1.18 HLTV rating. Alongside that, in their run to the Finals dexie also had a 1.18 HLTV rating in the online portion.

William “wfn” Maskrey: wfn has been prolific this year, placing top three at EPIC.LAN 41 and 43, and even making the Grand Finals of EPIC.LAN 42 and 44. Consistency is key for any player, and wfn perfectly embodies this. 2025 has been a highlight year for 8Sins and their AWPer, respectively. They have been the only team to challenge ALASKA, beating them on one occasion at the most recent EPIC.LAN. Unfortunately, 8Sins hasn’t been able to topple ALASKA in Grand Finals, but the consistency from wfn across the last year earns him a well-earned nomination as AWPer of the year.

Starting with your nominees for the best AWPer in UK CS

@ARTISTCS2
@dexieCS
@wfnnnnn pic.twitter.com/m6edfoJwh1

— UKCSGO (@ukcsgo) April 23, 2025

IGL of the year

Tom “arTisT” Clarke: Similar to his previous entry, arTisT has been on top of UK CS this year. He might not have been AWPing the whole time, but he certainly was calling a stormer throughout. Being the most dominant team over the last year means arTisT has to be on the list for IGL of the year.

Jack “Gizmy” von Spreckelsen: A lot of people might be surprised to see Gizmy on the list, as other players competing in Tier 2 and Tier 1 haven’t. The difference is that Gizmy still actively competes in UKIC with Half Natty, and also was at EPIC.LAN 43 where he placed second with Verdant fe. Outside of the regional scene, Gizmy made his debut at a Tier 1 level with Monte, participating in tournaments like Global Esports Tour Rio 2024 and making playoffs at ESL Pro League Season 19.

Returning to Monte Gen after a short stint on the main team, Gizmy continuously placed high in European Tier 2 tournaments as the IGL for the academy side. Entering 2025, The Brit was granted permanent promotion to the main team as the IGL. This year has been quieter for Monte, but they still have placed second at CCT Season 2 Europe Series 16.

Connor “Finui” Finucane: Teammate to AWPer dexie, Finui has built a misfit roster from the ground up to eventually qualify for UKIC Season 5 Division 1 Finals. Especially in the qualification to the Finals, Finui proved to have purpose outside of calling as he posted a 1.17 HLTV rating in the online portion.

The best and brightest leaders in UK CS. Your Nominees for IGL of the year

@ARTISTCS2
@Gizmyyy
@Finuii pic.twitter.com/vhm30a5dM9

— UKCSGO (@ukcsgo) April 23, 2025

Breakout player of the year

James “Flicky” Errington: The AWPer made his first steps into top-flight UK CS as he joined The Last Resort at the beginning of last year. During his time on this project, they made back-to-back UKIC Division 1 playoffs. On LAN, he also proved pivotal at EPIC.LAN 42 TLR made a top-four run. Recently, Flicky was a part of the Reason Gaming squad that placed second in ESEA Main and subsequently qualified for ESEA Advanced. In the first UKIC Division 1 Season of this year, they also qualified straight through from the regular season to the Semi Finals.

Lucian “devi” Manolache: devi put himself on the map after breaking out in UKIC Season 3 Division 2 after he won the event with TRAXXXMANIA and claimed the MVP. Heading into Season 4, he got snatched up by Belfast Storm in Division 1. Instantly making it clear he deserved the call-up, his superstar performances led to Belfast Storm making the Grand Finals. Verdant ended up besting them, but devi showed UK CS what he was capable of. Continuing his form, he assisted Belfast Storm in qualifying for another playoffs in UKIC Season 5: Division 1, and a top-six placement at EPIC.LAN 44.

Liam “M1n1mal” Reynolds: At only 17 years old, M1n1mal is one for the future. Playing the majority of last year on Viperio Academy, he placed top eight with them in consecutive EPIC.LANs. On top of this, Viperio Academy was also promoted to UKIC Season 5: Division 1 after placing third in Division 2. This didn’t turn out to be very prosperous for the squad as they only picked up one win. But what is for certain, this 17-year-old prodigy is one to keep an eye on as he has moved onto flowstate under the gaze of Lorenzo “LTH” Venanzi.

Most successful debuts at the top level in UK CS

Meet your nominees for breakout player of the year

@CSFlicky
@devilicious01
@M1n1maLcs pic.twitter.com/UIpw2y4f6c

— UKCSGO (@ukcsgo) April 23, 2025

Import player of the year

Jacob “Rezst” Hemming: The Dutch IGL of K10 was on the precipice of greatness last year, but unfortunately, could never deliver in the Grand Finals. Placing second at EPIC.LAN 41 and UKIC Division 1 Finals in both seasons 1 and 2. Alongside this, K10 also made playoffs in ESEA Advanced Season 48 and had other ventures in European Tier 2 events.

Remi “Diviiii” Alexandre: Somewhat the opposite of Rezst, the French AWPer dominated everyone in his path while playing for Verdant. Taking over AWPing duties from arTisT for the time he was on the project, he won two EPIC.LANs and the UKIC Season 3: Division 1 Finals. He even claimed the MVP in the UKIC Finals and at EPIC.LAN 42. After putting up monstrous numbers during his time with Verdant, he has certainly earned a nomination for Import of the year.

Tobias “shyyne” Sæther: Playing under the tutelage of Rezst on K10, the Norwegian AWPer suffered the same fate as his IGL. They did very well to get the consistent Grand Finals, but just could never finish their food. After K10 folded shyyne moved onto Viperio, another UK org, but under an international roster. During his time there, Viperio consistently played in Tier 2 tournaments, but they struggled to find their footing.

UK CS always relies on imported talent, and this year they delivered. The nominees for import player of the year

@rezstcs
@Diviiiicsgo
@shyyneCS pic.twitter.com/D8BXRZ2NKF

— UKCSGO (@ukcsgo) April 23, 2025

Creator of the year

Alex “Byfield” Byfield: Consistency is the key for any content creator, and Byfield only sees consistency. Streaming almost daily and posting content, Byfield has been building his platform for years as he closes in on 4000 followers on Twitch. Posting highlight videos and a look into his competitive career and even boxing content, Byfield constantly has you supplied to meet all your needs.

Ashley “ash” Battye’s Playbook: The coach of Gamerlegion, ash, burst onto the Counter-Strike content world with his incredibly well-edited and laid out videos showing a real in-depth insight into what it is like to be a Tier 1 coach. From talking about what a coach actually does, to talking through GamerLegion’s Shanghai Major run, ash has put out some of the best content in the whole of Counter-Strike, let alone UK CS.

Tier2Talk hosted by Ryan “Retr00” Bernard & Joshua “Dweg” Nathan: A little different to the two previous nominees, Tier2Talk focuses on well, you guessed it, Tier 2. Bringing on players and coaches from various Tier 2 teams onto a podcast to talk about their team, and other Tier 2 news that is going on.

From highlights & match analysis to interviews, 2024 was packed with exciting domestically produced content!

Here are the nominees for creator of the year

@ByfieldCS
@ashhhcs‘ Playbook
@Tier2Talk – @EU_ReTr00 & @DwegCS pic.twitter.com/FoJ190l79i

— UKCSGO (@ukcsgo) April 24, 2025

Coach of the year

Freddie “GrimyRannarr” Pritchard: UKCSGO’s finest went into coaching last year with Belfast Storm. As previously mentioned, with dexie and devi, the highlight of this team’s journey was when they made the Grand Finals of UKIC Season 4 Division 1.

Elliott “fett1s” Fettis: Coaching for the first portion of the year, fett1s was able to achieve consistent results with TLR despite the many roster changes. During this time, he achieved playoffs in Season 1 and 2 of UKIC Division 1 and a top-four finish at EPIC.LAN 42.

Ciaran “biscu” King: The coach of Verdant and ALASKA needs little introduction. Under his gaze, Verdant went on a spree, winning everything domestically over the last 10 months. With the roster showing cracks in the armour recently, the Irish coach has joined Owen “smooya” Butterfield’s new project with the hope of continuing his success.

Those who can’t play, teach. Meet your nominees for UK CS coach of the year

@GrimyRannarr
@fett1sCS2
@biscu_ pic.twitter.com/MGAjWk9lyq

— UKCSGO (@ukcsgo) April 24, 2025

Talent of the year

Neo “Ne0kai” Caine: UKCSGO’s very own made a big leap into consistent Tier 1 work this year, working remotely for Intel Extreme Masters Chengdu 2024, ESL Pro League Season 19, and Intel Extreme Masters Rio 2024. These top-level appearances aided in Ne0kai working his first arena event alongside Anders Blume at Elisa Masters Espoo 2024. The list is endless for the talent casters and therefore earns a spot in the talent of the year category.

Brandon “BDog” Rawlings: In a similar vein to Ne0kai, 2024 was a breakout year for BDog as he appeared on the same S-tier events as a remote caster. He also worked his first RMRs in person for the PGL Major Copenhagen 2024 Americas and Asia-Pacific. BDog, alongside his duo Lucy “LucyLuce” Eastwood, continued their work as the poster duo for ESL Impact as they featured at every LAN Finals.

Joshua “Dweg” Nathan: Known locally for his interesting CS ability at EPIC.LAN, Dweg did have a fantastic 2024 working in India at the Skyesports Grand Slam 2024 and in Serbia at the end of the year at RES Regional Champions. The Australian caster also lent this ability to other big events in 2024, such as YaLLa Compass 2024 and CCT Season 1 Global Finals.

UK CS is stacked with top tier broadcast talent, but these three stole the show this year

Meet your nominees for UK CS talent of the Year

@Ne0Kai
@BDogCS
@DwegCS pic.twitter.com/OZrLrE9fuD

— UKCSGO (@ukcsgo) April 24, 2025

Breakthrough talent of the year

Alessandro “sh1n” Scaglia: The American caster broke onto the scene in 2025 with his appearance at EPIC.LAN 44. Alongside this sh1n has been building up his portfolio working with UKIC and other UK organisations in various ESEA leagues.

Tim “TIMMO” Musters: Working alongside index, colloquially known as TIMDEX, the UK duo has been a mainstay for every UK event in 2024 and 2025. Working three UKIC Division 1 Finals in person, they have put together an impressive resume. The two of them have also broken out into European Tier 2 tournaments, featuring in the RES European Series and various CCT events.

Harry “index” Bayliss: The other half of TIMDEX, index does more than just run Stratbase. Very similar to TIMMO, the two have shared this journey together. It is not easy to break out of the regional scene, and especially in the current Counter-Strike ecosystem, there aren’t many opportunities, but index and TIMMO are breaking through.

It isn’t easy to break through the grassroots scene… But not impossible

Meet your nominees for breakout talent of the year

@sh1nTV
@TIMMOcs
@indexCS pic.twitter.com/xi7Vo7zyKm

— UKCSGO (@ukcsgo) April 24, 2025

Team of the year

8Sins: As previously mentioned, 8Sins have had an incredible run so far in 2025. Making the Grand Finals of both EPIC.LAN 44 and UKIC Season 5 Division 1, 8Sins have been the only teams to match ALASKA. 8Sins confirmed themselves as, without a shadow of a doubt, the second-best team in UK CS over the last 6 months, as they have toppled every foe aside from ALASKA.

ALASKA: The kings of UK CS have lifted every trophy in their path with no one being able to stop them. The games do occasionally get close, and ALASKA have been constantly challenged, but their crown has never been taken. The future of this project is uncertain, but over the last 10 months, no one has been able to best them.

Belfast Storm: A new name in UK CS arrived last year, picking up Halal5 heading into UKIC Season 3: Division 1. After a first season with little to write home about and a poor top 12 finish at EPIC.LAN 43, fortune changed for the Northern Irish organisation. The highlight of this team was making a Cinderella run all the way to the finals in the next season of UKIC Division 1. Ultimately falling short to Verdant, Belfast Storm still continued to achieve decent results as they placed top 6 at EPIC.LAN 44 and made the playoffs in Season 5 of UKIC.

Some teams in particular stood on business this year

The nominees for UK CS team of the year

@8SinsEsports
ALASKA
@Belfaststorm pic.twitter.com/EcTsJKTZUl

— UKCSGO (@ukcsgo) April 25, 2025

Player of the year

Jack “Gizmy” Von Spreckelson: A lot of people might be surprised to see Gizmy on the list, as other players competing in Tier 2 and Tier 1 haven’t. The difference is that Gizmy still actively competes in UKIC with Half Natty, and also was at EPIC.LAN 43 placing second with Verdant fe. Outside of the regional scene, Gizmy made his debut at a Tier 1 level with Monte, participating in tournaments like Global Esports Tour Rio 2024 and making playoffs at ESL Pro League Season 19.

Mason “Vacancy” Haines: Joining Verdant at the start of last year, it was not smooth sailing straight away for Vacancy as they struggled to find their form regionally. But things certainly did change for them as from EPIC.LAN 42 Verdant went unbeaten with Vacancy‘s consistent performances aiding in their journey.

Matas “Extinct” Strumila: Teammate to Vacancy, Extinct actually wasn’t competing at the start of 2024 due to him finishing his university. But even so, during this period, he won his first of three EPIC.LANs in 2024 with The Neighbours at EPIC.LAN 41. When he returned to Verdant, you all know the story by now. What defines Extinct is him picking up the MVP at EPIC.LAN 43, and even though he didn’t win MVP at EPIC.LAN 44, he won the finals for ALASKA with his performance on map three.

The best players in UK CS

Meet the nominees for player of the year

@Gizmyyy
@Vacancycs
@ExtinctCS2 pic.twitter.com/Jiz8LJQtzN

— UKCSGO (@ukcsgo) April 25, 2025

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