When you play the "Game of Thrones" you win or you die.

"Game of Thrones" Season 7 did not die. It won Outstanding Drama Series at the 2018 Emmy Awards.

This is the HBO show's third time winning the top category. It can only win one more time, after its final season airs next year on HBO.

Outstanding Drama Series is always kept for the end of the night, because it's basically the Best Picture of the Emmys.

There were seven nominees this year:

"Game of Thrones"
"Stranger Things"
"The Americans"
"The Crown"
"The Handmaid's Tale"
"This Is Us"
"Westworld"

The Outstanding Drama Series win could've gone in almost any direction.

Emmys had gone to most (but not all) of the nominees earlier in the night. This marked the final year of "The Americans" (congrats, Matthew Rhys!) and also the final year for the original stars of "The Crown" (Well deserved, Claire Foy). "The Crown" Season 3 will bring in a whole new cast to play the royals.

Based on the night's earlier wins, it looked like it would come down to "The Crown," "The Americans," or "The Handmaid's Tale."


But ... nope! Peter Dinklage had won the Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series earlier in the night, but that was the only major GoT award.

Still, "Game of Thrones" had 22 nominations -- the most of any show this year -- and Emmy voters were saving the big trophy for Season 7, aka the penultimate season.

Last week, GoT also picked up seven Creative Arts Emmys:

Outstanding Fantasy/Sci-Fi Costumes; Outstanding Production Design for a Narrative Period or Fantasy Program (One Hour or More); Outstanding Prosthetic Makeup for a Series, Miniseries, Movie or a Special; Outstanding Music Composition for a Series (Original Dramatic Score); Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy or Drama Series (One Hour); Outstanding Special Visual Effects; and Outstanding Stunt Coordination for a Drama Series, Limited Series or Movie.

GoT wasn't even eligible for Emmys last year, so they made up for it by honoring Season 7's seven episodes. GoT Season 8 is the final season, and those six episodes premiere next summer on HBO. Expect that to be a big Emmy winner, too.

Here's the full list of Emmys 2018 winners.

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