The Game Awards are fast approaching, and just like in recent years, there are a few esports categories too for competitive gamers to debate. But who, or what, has been nominated?

The Game Awards is an annual event celebrating the very best in gaming, championing AAA titles, impressive indie games, and everything in between.

With the obvious connection between casual gaming and competitive gaming, esports has begun to appear at The Game Awards, and 2025 is no exception. Here are the esports categories at The Game Awards, and the nominees for each.

Best Esports Game

• Counter-Strike 2
• Dota 2
• League of Legends
• Mobile Legends: Bang Bang
• Valorant

Best Esports Athlete

• Brock “brawk” Somerhalder
• Jeong “Chovy” Ji Hoon
• Jason “f0rsakeN” Susanto
• Kakeru “Kakeru” Watanabe
• Saul Leonardo “MenaRD” Mena Segundo
• Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut

Best Esports Team

• Gen.G – League of Legends
• NRG – Valorant
• Team Falcons – DOTA 2
• Team Liquid PH – Mobile Legends: Bang Bang
• Team Vitality – Counter-Strike 2

Obviously, just the list of nominees itself has caused a stir. Some questioned whether Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok, though most LoL fans believe that Chovy was a shoe-in for that spot. In other esports, many fans asked whether players like Mason “Mercules” Ramsey or Anthony “Shotzzy” Cuevas-Castro from Call of Duty were worth mentioning after their CDL World Championship heroics.

For Best Game, a lot of people responded to the announcement, questioning how Mobile Legends: Bang Bang was in there, perhaps not realizing that it is actually one of the biggest esports in the world, thanks to its huge presence in Asia.

While not everyone’s favorite player, team, or esport can always be represented at these events, it feels inevitable that the likes of Counter-Strike, League of Legends, and Valorant will always be there.

As for the actual winners, each category is pretty open. There’s a good argument to be made that CS2 is a heavy favorite for the Best Game title, and perhaps Vitality for Best Team, but nothing is guaranteed of course.