The Game Awards nominations were revealed earlier today.
Numerous games, individuals, and organizations are up for awards this year, including six different categories of esports specific awards. This year’s program will feature:
- Best Esports Team
- Best Esports Host
- Best Esports Game
- Best Esports Event
- Best Esports Coach
- Best Esports Athlete.
Here’s a quick synopsis of the nominees for each award.
Best Esports Team
- DAMWON Gaming
- Dallas Empire
- San Francisco Shock
- G2 Esports
- Team Secret
DAMWON Gaming is a League of Legends team that won the 2020 LCK Summer Split playoffs and Worlds 2020. DWG claimed the 2020 Worlds title against Suning in an exhilarating 3-1 series at the end of October. Prior to DWG’s thrilling victory at Worlds, an LCK team hadn’t won Worlds since 2017.
The Dallas Empire are a Call of Duty team that won the inaugural Call of Duty League championship against Atlanta FaZe at the end of August. On top of winning the title, along with a $1.5 million prize, the team also won several other Home Series events throughout the year.
The San Francisco Shock are an Overwatch team that defeated the underdog Seoul Dynasty in the 2020 Grand Finals to earn their second consecutive Overwatch League title. This year’s victory cemented their legacy as the greatest Overwatch team to ever grace the OWL.
G2 Esports’ League team had a great year in the LEC. They won the 2020 LEC Spring and Summer Split playoffs and they ended the year with a semifinal finish at Worlds. G2’s consistent success in the LEC is a testament to the quality of their organization and is the reason they were nominated for the award.
Team Secret are a Dota 2 team that’s looked strong in 2020. They won the DreamLeague season 13 title in January and, more recently, won their seventh-straight title at the OMEGA League: Europe Immortal Division. They’ve been absolutely dominating the Dota 2 scene and are showing no signs of slowing down anytime soon.
Best Esports Coach
- Zefa
- Zonic
- Crusty
- Rambo
- Grabbz
Zefa was the head coach of DWG this year and led them to the win at the 2020 League World Championship. He’s since been signed to be the head coach of T1 for 2021.
Zonic has served as the coach of the Astralis CS:GO team for four years now. During a year filled with scandals for most CS:GO coaches, Zonic led Astralis to a decent, scandal-free year, including winning the ESL Pro League season 12 in October.
Crusty has served as the coach of the San Francisco Shock over the past two years, during which time he’s won back-to-back OWL championships with the team. His incredible strategic knowledge and leadership skills have been essential to the Shock’s unprecedented level of success in the Overwatch League.
Grabbz is the head coach of G2’s League team. He’s served with the team for three years, during which time he’s helped lead them to new heights of success in the LEC, winning the playoffs of both splits this year.
Finally, Rambo is the head coach of the Dallas Empire, who won CoD Champs 2020 and several other tournaments in the inaugural season of the Call of Duty League.
All of these coaches are incredible leaders who have helped their teams achieve tremendous success, so this should be a hotly contested award.
Best Esports Athlete
- Crimsix
- Shotzzy
- Canyon
- Showmaker
- ZywOo
Crimsix played with the Dallas Empire throughout the 2020 CDL season and won the Call of Duty League Championship MVP award. He previously played for OpTic Gaming for five years and is considered by many to be one of the best CoD players of all time. Shotzzy was also a part of the Dallas Empire and he won the CDL’s 2020 regular season MVP award.
Both Canyon and Showmaker were star players for DWG during their Worlds 2020 victory. Canyon is the jungler while Showmaker plays in the mid lane. Both players served as consistent performers for the team during DWG’s incredible 2020 season.
Finally, ZywOo is the AWPer for Vitality’s CS:GO team. He’s played with Vitality since late 2018. During his tenure with Vitality, they’ve won numerous A-tier and S-tier events, including most recently winning the BLAST Premiere: Fall 2020 regular season and coming in second at the DreamHack Open Fall 2020.
Best Esports Host
- Sjokz
- Machine
- Goldenboy
- Dash
- Sheever
Sjokz is a Belgian broadcaster who served as the host for the 2020 League World Championship. Machine is a British esports commentator who’s covered a number of different games, including League, Dota 2, and CS:GO. Goldenboy is a commentator who’s worked in Call of Duty, Overwatch, and other games. Dash is a League desk analyst for Riot Games. Finally, Sheever is a Dota 2 commentator who hosts DreamLeague and has hosted a number of major Dota 2 events in 2020.
Best Esports Game
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
- CS:GO
- Fortnite
- League of Legends
- VALORANT
The esports side of all five of these games continued to thrive in 2020. The first four games on this list came out before 2020, but VALORANT was released this summer. Despite being new, VALORANT esports immediately exploded in popularity, even as early as the beta, under the promise that Riot would support the game the same way it’s supported League. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare also took the spotlight this year since Blizzard officially launched the Call of Duty League. Truth be told, any of these games could potentially win this award.
Best Esports Event
- Blast Premier: Spring 2020 European Finals
- Call of Duty League Championship 2020
- IEM Katowice 2020
- League of Legends World Championship 2020
- Overwatch League Grand Finals 2020
Esports events looked drastically different this year due to the coronavirus pandemic. Despite the challenges, all five of these events managed to thrive this year. While some of these events moved online, others were hosted under strict conditions. Regardless, there were many challenges standing in the way of these events.
The League World Championship 2020 is perhaps the favorite for this award since Riot stepped up on the technology and production front despite the pandemic’s limitations. No matter which tournament wins this award, though, the real winners are esports fans everywhere. The organizers of all of these events found ways to keep the ball rolling in the face of great difficulty.
The Game Awards 2020 will be streamed on Dec. 10.
