After years of of being underappreciated, top streamers are finally set to receive some of the rewards they deserve through Twitch.tv’s Blizzard Stream Awards 2013. The awards will bestow $45,000 in prizes to the top streamers who selflessly took on the grueling and thankless task of playing video games, sometimes for up to twelve hours a day.

“We feel that these nominees are long overdue for some recognition,” said a Twitch representative. “They’ve worked so hard and received nothing in return other than huge viewership, advertising revenue, fan donations, and corporate sponsorships.”

The awards feature categories for each of the popular Blizzard franchises and is decided by popular vote, adding suspense and excitement for nominees like Sean “Day9” Plott, who hopes that winning an award could finally help him gain some exposure in the scene.

“It’s about time we got something back for the hard work we’re doing,” said Paulo “CatZ” Vizcarra. “It’s not like people will hand over money just because you ask them.”

“I’d like to thank my fans for voting for me,” said Steven “Destiny” Bonnell, who is nominated for “Best StarCraft 2 Stream” after returning to the game in September. Bonnell currently holds a commanding lead in the category despite streaming League of Legends for nearly 70% of 2013.

The announcement also boosted morale across all Twitch streamers, not just the top 1% of channels from which the nominations were exclusively drawn, and among others in the ESPORTS scene as well.

“Shoutout to the streamers,” said Johan “NaNiwa” Lucchesi, StarCraft 2 personality. “You guys are the real stars and driving force behind our scene.”

Lucchesi further expressed his appreciation for streamers on Twitter in the form of several popular phrases preceded by hashtags.

