Controversy Trails Game Award Nominations

Controversy surrounding awards and their recipients is not uncommon, and it has come up again following the announcement of the Game Awards nominees.

It was recently revealed that two fighting game players, Kakeru and MenaRD, have been nominated for the esports athlete of the year award. However, many in the community immediately questioned the nominations, and people are asking why certain players were left out. The biggest omission for fans is the Esports World Cup winner for Street Fighter 6, Xiao Hai.

Xiao Hai has had a stellar year across multiple games with an EWC win in Street Fighter 6, four major titles in Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves, and some incredible results in King of Fighters 15. For many people, it is hard to understand how all of this was not enough to earn him a spot among the nominees.

A lot of fans have called this omission a huge oversight from the Game Awards and more proof that they are not connected to the FGC in any real way. Prominent players like Arslan Ash have also argued that there should be a separate category for fighting game players because esports athletes from other genres usually have much larger followings which already makes things uneven for fighting games.

Some people have also questioned the addition of Kakeru who has not really been active since August and who has not posted many standout results this year. After his Capcom Cup win, Kakeru crashed out in the second round at Red Bull Kumite, finished fifth in Topanga League, and was eliminated in top 32 at Evo Japan before his impressive run to second place at Evo 2025.

Xiao Hai has not said anything about being left out, but considering how much he has achieved this season, it still feels like he is underrated in some circles. Fighting games are slowly starting to get more recognition and the hope is that things continue moving in a positive direction so that the scene finally gets the respect it deserves.