T3 Awards 2021: all the Gaming award winners announced

Gaming is one of the most immersive and fun hobbies in the world and, no matter how you play your games, either via PC or console, having the right supporting hardware can make a huge difference to that experience.

Yes, sure, having a quality core gaming system is obviously very important, which is why T3 reviews top consoles such as the PS5 and Xbox Series X, as well as reviewing and rating the best gaming laptops, but that powerful gaming heart can be compromised with lacklustre accessories.

After all, what's the point in owning a powerhouse gaming PC if its visuals are displayed on an awful, bargain basement monitor? Or equally, how much immersion would be lost if a gamer was forced to play the latest epic AAA console game and use a pair of $5/£5 disposable earphones for audio?

No, gaming accessories are a crucial part of any gamer's setup, and here we celebrate the best on the market today in the fields of gaming headsets, gaming mice, gaming keyboards, gaming monitors, gaming chairs and gaming accessories.

Let's jump on in to the Gaming category award winners in the T3 Awards 2021...

Best Gaming Headset: Asus ROG Delta S

Audio is absolutely crucial to in-game immersion, which is why T3 spends each year reviewing and rating the very best gaming headsets money can buy. Having a good pair of gaming headphones can not only take you deeper into the world, story and action of a game, but also provide a competitive edge in multiplayer, too.

Luckily for gamers, there are today a huge amount of quality gaming headsets on the market, and that has been proved once more in the large shortlist for the Best Gaming Headset gong at the T3 Awards 2021. A whopping nine gaming headsets made the final cut and, truth be told, each is a cracking buy. There could, however, only be one overall winner.

And, after much debate, the judges selected the Asus ROG Delta S as that winner. In T3's 5-star review of the Asus ROG Delta S we said that it was "an excellent choice for computers and consoles alike", highlighting particularly its "stellar audio quality", "customisable RGB lighting", "strong battery life" and "compatibility with a broad range of devices".

Indeed, the Asus ROG Delta S is truly a gaming headset with audiophile credentials, offering 7.1 surround sound, MQA (Master Quality Authenticated) high-resolution audio support, a Hi-Res Quad DAC and powerful 50mm drivers. Its owner also gets access to a Discord-certified ClearCast mic. The headset isn't wireless, but that plays into its versatility, with it coming with a USB Type-C dongle that means it works just as well on PlayStation and Xbox as it does on PC.

Then, when you consider that the Asus ROG Delta S retails very firmly in the upper mid-tier in terms of price point, and it's easy to see why it is has been so well received. So, for all these reasons and more besides, T3 is happy to announce that Asus ROG Delta S has won the Best Gaming Headset award at the T3 Awards 2021.

The best gaming headset shortlist

Asus ROG Delta S

Audeze Penrose

Creative SXFI Gamer

HyperX Cloud Stinger S

JBL Quantum One

Logitech G Pro X Wireless Lightspeed

LucidSound LS50X

Razer BlackShark V2

SteelSeries Arctis 7P/7X Wireless

Best Gaming Mouse: Razer DeathAdder V2

The field of gaming mice is one of the most competitive out there, with basically every gaming brand you can think of offering its own range of rodents. Over the past few years we've seen plenty of new gaming mice from up-and-coming makers, too, and through a mixture of stylish designs and top technology they have really challenged the established players.

Despite this, though, the winner of the T3 Awards 2021 prize for most rad rodent has gone to a mouse and brand with serious heritage. That's because the judges have voted that the Razer DeathAdder V2 is the best gaming mouse in the world.

And, simply put, it's easy to see why. In T3's review of the Razer rodent we said that it "improves on a classic" (over 10 million Razer DeathAdder mice have been bought by gamers to date) and were really impressed with its "incredible 20,000 DPI sensor",  "ridiculous response time", "ergonomic design" and "deep configuration software".

The Razer DeathAdder V2 also delivers its owner 8 programmable buttons, 5 on-board memory profiles, a comprehensive RGB lighting system, and a braided Speedflex cable.

The real star of the DeathAdder V2 show, though, is its Razer-made optical mouse switches, which have an industry-leading response time of just 0.2 milliseconds. In layman's terms that means this mouse is ridiculously fast and responsive, which is exactly what PC gamers need when competing against AI hordes in single-player or other gamers online.

The Razer DeathAdder V2 simply ticks every box a gamer could want from a gaming mouse, and does so for a surprisingly affordable price point. And that is why the Razer DeathAdder V2 has won the Best Gaming Mouse award at the T3 Awards 2021.

The best gaming mouse shortlist

Asus ROG Gladius II Core

Corsair Sabre RGB Pro Champion Series

HyperX Pulsefire Haste

Mad Catz R.A.T. DWS

Razer DeathAdder V2

Roccat Burst Pro

Best Gaming Keyboard: Whirlwind FX Element

You only have to take one look at T3's best gaming keyboards buying guide to see that today PC gamers have access to more options to type and game on than ever before. And that is reflected in the shortlist for this year's Best Gaming Keyboard award, with eight top boards making the cut for the judges' final consideration.

And, simply put, if you game on a computer at a desk then a gaming keyboard should be an absolute essential purchase. Unlike standard computing keyboards, gaming keyboards are not only designed to look better in a gamer aesthetic but also to be more responsive and useful in-game. Many gaming keyboards, for example, come with programmable keys, media shortcuts, various key switch mechanisms and customisable RGB lighting.

Combine all these things with a top-rate fit and finish and you get a great gaming keyboard, which is exactly what the T3 Awards 2021 judges decided that Whirlwind FX did when it made the Whirlwind FX Element, which we are happy to confirm has won the Best Gaming Keyboard award this year.

This five star rated gaming keyboard impressed very much on review, with T3 concluding that it offers a "top-class design, an excellent build quality, and a fantastic RGB lighting customisation system that can't currently be bettered." The reviewer also called out the Element's "excellent typing experience" and responsive "Kailh mechanical key switches".

The Whirlwind FX Element's lighting system is the real star of the show, though, with the accompanying software granting its owner massive amounts of freedom and control to select illumination effects. There's Matrix-style terminal effects (with green cascading down the keyboard), a heatmap effect (so keys glow after you've touched them), a fire effect (all rippling reds and oranges), and many more besides. There's also specific lighting game integrations, too, for titles such as League of Legends, Minecraft, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, PUBG, Call of Duty, Fortnite, The Witcher 3, and Hearthstone among others.

For all these reasons and many more besides, T3 is therefore very happy to announce that the Whirlwind FX Element is the winner of our prestigious Best Gaming Keyboard award for 2021.

The best gaming keyboard shortlist

Asus TUF Gaming K3

Corsair K100 RGB Mechanical Gaming Keyboard

Glorious GMMK Gaming Keyboard

HyperX Alloy Elite 2

Logitech G915 TKL

Razer BlackWidow V3

Roccat Vulcan TKL Pro

Whirlwind FX Element

Best Gaming Monitor: LG UltraGear 34GN850

The best gaming monitors elevate gaming experiences to a higher level and are very much the window that gamers use to access their in-game virtual worlds. As a result of this they are crucial components of any PC gaming setup and, unless a gaming TV is involved, a console gamer's setup, too. That's why T3 spends so much time reviewing and rating gaming monitors.

And over the past year we've seen a lot of quality gaming monitors, so much so that a whopping ten models made it through to the T3 Awards 2021 shortlist for our coveted Best Gaming Monitor award. Each of these monitors, which come in a variety of aspect ratios, resolutions and price points, won us over thanks to their great performance and overall package, so it was hard to choose between them to select one overall winner.

But pick a winner the T3 Awards 2021 judges did, with the beastly LG UltraGear 34GN850 walking away with the Best Gaming Monitor award for 2021.

In our LG UltraGear 34GN850 review we said that it was "a quality, ultrawide, curved gaming display" that "impresses in terms of output and design". We specifically called out the monitor's "very impressive gaming performance", "simple assembly and setup", "rapid response times" and "immersive ultrawide aspect ratio" as reasons why you would drop the money to bag this screen.

The LG UltraGear 34GN850 also offers support for VESA Display HDR400, Nvidia G-Sync and AMD FreeSync technologies, a wide colour spectrum (98 percent of the DCI-P3 color gamut), and a refresh rate of up to 160Hz, which all complement the Nano IPS panel's resolution of 3,440 x 1,440 pixels perfectly.

We also loved how this monitor was actually very good for office work, too, as well as watching movies, with its 21:9 aspect ratio enhancing immersion and drawing the viewer into the screen. In terms of browsing, this screen can easily handle three windows open side-by-side at one time.

Overall, then, the LG UltraGear 34GN850 is a worthy winner of the T3 Awards 2021 Best Gaming Monitor award, and we pass on our congratulations to LG for building such an impressive panel.

The best gaming monitor shortlist

Acer Predator XB3

Asus ROG Swift PG329Q

BenQ MOBIUZ EX2710

BenQ EX2780Q

Dell Curved Gaming Monitor S2721HGF

HP Omen 27i

Lenovo Legion Y44W-10

LG UltraGear 34GN850

Philips 346B1C

Samsung Odyssey G9

Best Gaming Chair: SecretLab Titan SoftWeave

Prolonged gaming sessions are great, but if you don't have the correct support it can be a recipe for disaster. Repetitive strain injury as well as back, neck and limb pain are all common issues for gamers who have inadequate seating, so - for PC gamers especially - a gaming chair should be a core component to their gaming setup.

And that's why T3 spends so much time reviewing and rating the best gaming chairs on the market. We know that not every gaming chair will be perfect for every gamer, but what we do know is that a well-matched gaming chair will elevate any gamer's gaming experience and prevent unwanted aches and pains.

The market for gaming chairs has become incredibly competitive lately, too, with a whole host of brands now looking to increase gamer comfort, and that is evidenced by the very strong shortlist for the Best Gaming Chair award in this year's T3 Awards. Each of these shortlisted chairs, which run the gamut of gaming chair price points, offers a great package, but only one of them could win the big award.

And this year the Best Gaming Chair award goes to the SecretLab Titan SoftWeave, which won the judges over thanks to its "impressive back, arm and neck support", "exceptional all-round build quality" and "fantastic SoftWeave fabric", which offered something genuinely unique in the gaming chair marketplace.

What also informed the judges' decision was just how impressive and comprehensive the whole SoftWeave package was, and how much care and attention had gone into its packaging, setup instructions and included assembly toolkit. SecretLab had excelled in making the setup procedure really straightforward and stress free, and the finished product had a superb fit and finish, too.

Indeed, T3's review of the SoftWeave concluded that it was "a god-tier gaming chair, where style, comfort, build-quality and features are all truly exceptional". And for those reasons and more besides, T3 is very happy to announce that the SecretLab Titan SoftWeave has won the T3 Awards 2021 Best Gaming Chair award.

The best gaming chair shortlist

AndaSeat T-Pro 2

BraZen Phantom Elite

Noblechairs Epic Series Real Leather

Razer Iskur

SecretLab Titan SoftWeave

Best Gaming Accessory: SecretLab MAGNUS Metal Desk

The best gaming accessories make gaming easier, more fun, as well as a more premium experience. They are products that elevate the gaming experience in ways that many gamers didn't even know existed, and often end up being right at the heart of any gamer's gaming setup.

And this year gamers were spoiled in this field like never before. From incredible moddable controllers to state-of-the-art gaming webcams, through to plug-and-play USB upscalers and advanced gaming desks, before moving onto hyper premium gaming docks and spacious storage expansion cards, the gaming accessories and peripherals offering over the past year has been truly exceptional.

And that made picking an overall winner for the T3 Awards 2021 Best Gaming Accessory award harder than it had ever been before. Each of the shortlisted products was top-tier and many given the highest score T3 can award in a full 5-star review. In the end, though, the judges opted for a true game-changer.

The SecretLab MAGNUS Metal Desk is, quite simply, the best gaming desk in the world, and won a maximum 5-star score from T3 thanks to its "hyper luxe all metal build", "superb cable management" system, "smart magnetic accessories", "integrated LED lighting system" and "super clear setup instructions". T3 concluded that the SecretLab MAGNUS was "the ultimate gaming table for PC and console gamers".

Not only does the SecretLab MAGNUS take gaming desks to a new level in terms of build quality (so much metal!), but it changes the game with its style, features and accessories. The desk exudes premium in every detail and, for PC gamers especially, acts as a brilliant command station from which to enjoy their hobby.

The T3 Awards 2021 judges agreed that it was a genuinely unique proposition, too, and therefore we are pleased to announce that the SecretLab MAGNUS Metal Desk has won the Best Gaming Accessory award.

The best gaming accessory shortlist

Marseille mClassic

Razer Kiyo Pro

Seagate Expansion Card for Xbox Series X|S

Seagate FireCuda Gaming Dock

SecretLab MAGNUS Metal Desk

Thrustmaster eSwap X Pro Controller

• See all the T3 Awards 2021 winners