The shortlist for The Game Awards 2019 has been revealed and, naturally, features some of the hottest talent pro gaming has to offer.
But perhaps more eye-catching are some of the names not in the running for a prize at what is arguably the most respected esports awards.
Take, for example, FunPlus Phoenix, who in 2019 were the winners of League of Legends World Championships and LPL - China's League of Legends Pro League.
There is no room for the Chinese org on the shortlist for Esports Team of the Year and their coach, Chen "WarHorse" Ju-Chih", is overlooked in the Coach of the Year category.
Team of the Year contenders are Astralis (CS:GO), G2 Esports (LOL), OG, Team Liquid (CS:GO) and San Francisco Shock.
In the coaches category, the names in the frame are Team Liquid's CS:GO coach, Eric ‘adreN’ Hoag Liquid's LoL coach Nu-ri ‘Cain’ Jang, G2's LoL coach Fabian ‘GrabbZ’ Lohmann, SK Telecom's Kim ‘Kkoma’ Jeong-gyun, OG's Titouan ‘Sockshka’ Merloz and Astralis' Danny ‘Zonic’ Sørensen.
FPX tweeted their reaction to the The Game Awards 2019 announcement, saying: "TFW you realised that you won both LPL and Worlds (w/ 5 freshmen) but didn't even get nominated as the best coach by The Game Awards. It's ok, Warhorse, hold the Summoner's Cup and cry."
Simple problem
WarHorse isn't the only esports individual who might feel aggrieved at missing out at The Game Awards 2019.
The category of Best Esports Player also looks somewhat odd, with Na'Vi's s1mple the only CS:GO pro included at the end of a year dominated by Astralis and Team Liquid.
Game Awards 2019 - full list of nominees
The Game Awards 2019 will be held on December 12th, 2019, at Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles.
The full list of nominees are:
Game of The Year
Control (Remedy/505 Games)
Death Stranding (Kojima Productions/SIE)
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (Bandai-Namco/Sora/Nintendo)
Resident Evil 2 (Capcom/Capcom)
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (From Software/Activision)
The Outer Worlds (Obsidian/Private Division)
Best Game Direction
Control (Remedy/505 Games)
Death Stranding (Kojima Productions/SIE)
Resident Evil 2 (Capcom/Capcom)
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (From Software/Activision)
Outer Wilds (Mobius Digital/Annapurna)
Best Narrative
A Plague Tale: Innocence (Asobo/Focus Home)
Control (Remedy/505)
Death Stranding (Kojima Productions/SIE)
Disco Elysium (ZA/UM)
The Outer Worlds (Obsidian/Private Division)
Best Art Direction
Control (Remedy/505)
Death Stranding (Kojima Productions/SIE)
Gris (Nomada Studio/Devolver)
Sayonara Wild Hearts (Simogo/Annapurna)
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (From Software/Activision)
The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening (Grezzo/Nintendo)
Best Score/Music
Cadence of Hyrule (Brace Yourself Games/Nintendo)
Death Stranding (Kojima Productions/SIE)
Devil May Cry 5 (Capcom)
Kingdom Hearts III (Square Enix)
Sayonara Wild Hearts (Simogo/Annapurna)
Best Audio Design
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (Infinity Ward/Activision)
Control (Remedy/505)
Death Stranding (Kojima Productions/SIE)
Gears 5 (The Coalition/Xbox Game Studios)
Resident Evil 2 (Capcom)
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (From Software/Activision)
Best Performance
Ashly Burch as Parvati Holcomb, The Outer Worlds
Courtney Hope as Jesse Faden, Control
Laura Bailey as Kait Diaz, Gears 5
Mads Mikkelsen as Cliff, Death Stranding
Matthew Porretta as Dr. Casper Darling, Control
Norman Reedus as Sam Porter Bridges, Death Stranding
Games for Impact
Concrete Genie (Pixelopus/SIE)
Gris (Nomada Studio/Devolver)
Kind Words (Popcannibal)
Life is Strange 2 (Dontnod/Square Enix)
Sea of Solitude (Jo-Mei Games/EA)
Best Ongoing Game
Apex Legends (Respawn)
Destiny 2 (Bungie)
Final Fantasy XIV (Square Enix)
Fortnite (Epic Games)
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft)
Best Independent Game
Baba Is You (Hempuli)
Disco Elysium (ZA/UM)
Katana ZERO (Askiisoft/Devoler Digital)
Outer Wilds (Mobius Digital/Annapurna)
Untitled Goose Game (House House/Panic)
Best Mobile Game
Call of Duty: Mobile (TiMi Studios/Activision)
GRINDSTONE (Capybara Games)
Sayonara Wild Hearts (Simogo/Annapurna)
Sky: Children of Light (Thatgamecompany)
What the Golf? (Tribland)
Best Community Support
Apex Legends (Respawn/EA)
Destiny 2 (Bungie)
Final Fantasy XIV (Square Enix)
Fortnite (Epic Games)
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft)
Best VR/AR Game
Asgard's Wrath (Sanzaru Games/Oculus Studios)
Blood & Truth (SIE London Studio/SIE)
Beat Saber (Beat Games)
No Man's Sky (Hello Games)
Trover Saves the Universe (Squanch Games)
Best Action Game
Apex Legends (Respawn/EA)
Astral Chain (Platinum Games/Nintendo)
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (Infinity Ward/Activision)
Devil May Cry 5 (Capcom/Capcom)
Gears 5 (The Coalition/Xbox Game Studios)
Metro Exodus (4A Games/Deep Silver)
Best Action/Adventure Game
Borderlands 3 (Gearbox/2K)
Control (Remedy/505 Games)
Death Stranding (Kojima Productions/SIE)
Resident Evil 2 (Capcom)
The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening (Grezzo/Nintendo)
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (From Software/Activision)
Best RPG
Disco Elysium (ZA/UM)
Final Fantasy XIV (Square Enix)
Kingdom Hearts III (Square Enix)
Monster Hunter World: Iceborne (Capcom)
The Outer Worlds (Obsidian/Private Division)
Best Fighting Game
Dead or Alive 6 (Team Ninja/Koei Tecmo)
Jump Force (Spike Chunsoft/Bandai Namco)
Mortal Kombat 11 (NetherRealm/WBIE)
Samurai Showdown (SNK/Athlon)
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (Bandai Namco/Sora/Nintendo)
Best Family Game
Luigi's Mansion 3 (Next Level Games/Nintendo)
Ring Fit Adventure (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)
Super Mario Maker 2 (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (Bandai Namco/Sora/Nintendo)
Yoshi's Crafted World (Good-Feel/Nintendo)
Best Strategy Game
Age of Wonders: Planetfall (Triumph Studios/Paradox)
Anno 1800 (Blue Byte/Ubisoft)
Fire Emblem: Three Houses (Intelligent Systems/Koei Tecmo/Nintendo)
Total War: Three Kingdoms (Creative Assembly/Sega)
Tropico 6 (Limbic Entertainment/Kalypso Media)
Wargroove (Chucklefish)
Best Sports/Racing Game
Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled (Beenox/Activision)
DiRT Rally 2.0 (Codemasters)
eFootball Pro Evolution Soccer 2020 (PES Productions/Konami)
F1 2019 (Codemasters)
FIFA 20 (EA Sports)
Best Multiplayer Game
Apex Legends (Respawn/EA)
Borderlands 3 (Gearbox/2K)
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (Infinity Ward/Activision)
Tetris 99 (Arika/Nintendo)
Tom Clancy's The Division 2 (Massive Entertainment/Ubisoft)
Fresh Indie Game
ZA/UM for Disco Elysium
Nomada Studio for Gris
DeadToast Entertainment for My Friend Pedro
Mobius Digital for Outer Wilds
Mega Crit for Slay the Spire
House House for Untitled Goose Game
Content Creator of the Year
Jack "Courage" Dunlop
Benjamin "Dr. Lupo" Lupo
Soleil "Ewok" Wheeler
David "Grefg" Martínez
Michael "Shroud" Grzesiek
Best Esports Game
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (Valve)
DOTA2 (Valve)
Fortnite (Epic Games)
League of Legends (Riot Games)
Overwatch (Blizzard)
Best Esports Player
Kyle "Bugha" Giersdorf (Immortals, Fortnite)
Lee "Faker" Sang-hyeok (SK Telecom, League of Legends)
Luka "Perkz" Perkovic (G2 Esports, League of Legends)
Oleksandr "S1mple" Kostyliev (Natus Vincere, CSGO)
Jay "Sinatraa" Won (SF Shock, Overwatch)
Best Esports Team
Astralis (CS:GO)
G2 Esports (LOL)
OG (DOTA2)
San Francisco Shock (OWL)
Team Liquid (CS:GO)
Best Esports Event
2019 Overwatch League Grand Finals
EVO 2019
Fortnite World Cup
IEM Katowice 2019
League of Legends World Championship 2019
The International 2019
Best Esports Coach
Eric ‘adreN’ Hoag (Team Liquid, CS:GO)
Nu-ri ‘Cain’ Jang (Team Liquid, LOL)
Fabian ‘GrabbZ’ Lohmann (G2 Esports, LOL)
Kim ‘Kkoma’ Jeong-gyun (SK Telecom T1, LOL)
Titouan ‘Sockshka’ Merloz (OG, DOTA2)
Danny ‘Zonic’ Sørensen (Astralis, CSGO)
Best Esports Host
Eefje "Sjokz" Depoortere
Alex "Machine" Richardson
Paul "Redeye" Chaloner
Alex "Goldenboy" Mendez
Duan "Candice" Yu-Shuang
Picture: LoL Esports / Flicker
