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Global Poker Awards Nominations Announced, Ceremony Coming March 3 from Las Vegas

The Global Poker Index and Hendon Mob recently announced the final nominations for the 2023 Global Poker Awards.

The Global Poker Index and Hendon Mob recently announced the final nominations for the 2023 Global Poker Awards. The fifth annual ceremony is set for March 3 and showcases some of the best in poker. 

The awards highlight some of the brightest players on the felt along with those in the industry. PokerGO will stream the ceremony from the streaming service’s studio at the Aria in Las Vegas.

Some of this years nominees include Joey Ingram, the World Series of Poker’s Jack Effel, PokerGO’s Mori Eskandani, Daniel Negreanu, and numerous others.

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A look at Global Poker Award nominees

Some of this year’s categories include Best Poker Personality, Best Trophy, Best Hand, Favorite Live Stream, and more. Fans and poker players were able to vote for their favorite choices to narrow down the nominees. 

The event returned last year after a pause during the pandemic.  Poker commentator Jeff Platt returns to host the event and was pleased to be back last year after the hiatus. 

“It is good to be back in person,” Platt said. “After 23 months off we are here to celebrate the very best this industry has to offer.”

Some in the industry are looking to make it back-to-back this year. That list includes poker vlogger Brad Owen, tournament director Matt Savage, and Platt.

One player to watch is Ethan “Rampage” Yau, who is up for a third trophy in the Peoples’ Choice – Best Poker Personality category. He faces off against Ryan DePaulo, Felipe Ramos, and Lex Veldhuis. Veldhuis has already won the Best Streamer award twice. 

The Best Trophy category will crown a new champion. The PokerStars EPT Main Event, PokerGO Tour Stairway to Millions, Women’s Poker Association, and World Series of Poker Main Event are all nominated.

The Best Hand category sees the infamous Robbie Jade Lew “Jack-Four” hand going up against Daniel Negreanu’s runner-runner quads, David Diaz’s crucial Main Event fold, and a big bluff by Alejandro Lococo (aka Papo MC). Here’s a look at all the nominees.

Global Poker Awards
PLAYERS CHOICE FOR TOUGHEST OPPONENTBEST TOURNAMENT DIRECTOR
Brian Altman (USA)Paul Campbell (USA)
Stephen Chidwick (England)Ray Pulford (USA)
Alex Foxen (USA)Matt Savage (USA)
Stephen Song (USA)Toby Stone (England)
BEST FINAL TABLE PERFORMANCEBEST EVENT
Daniel “Jungleman” Cates (USA), WSOP $50,000 PPCEPT Barcelona Main Event
Espen Uhlen Jørstad (Norway), WSOP Main EventTriton Poker Coin Rivet Invitational
Daniel Negreanu (Canada), Super High Roller Bowl VIIWorld Series of Poker Main Event
Stephen Song (USA), WPT Prime ChampionshipWPT World Championship at Wynn Las Vegas
GPI BREAKOUT PLAYERBEST MID-MAJOR CIRCUIT/TOUR
Angela Jordison (USA)RUNGOOD Poker Series (RGPS)
Espen Uhlen Jørstad (Norway)Mid-States Poker Tour (MSPT)
Alejandro Lococo “PapoMC” (Argentina)World Series of Poker Circuit (WSOPC)
Punnat Punsri (Thailand)WPT Prime (WPTP)
Ethan “Rampage” Yau (USA)
BEST BROADCASTER
COMEBACK PLAYERJames Hartigan (Ireland)
Phil Ivey (USA)Jamie Kerstetter (USA)
Alex Keating (USA)Jeff Platt (USA)
Taylor von Kriegenbergh (USA)Nick Schulman (USA)
Daniel Weinman (USA)
BEST PODCAST
TWITTER PERSONALITYOnly Friends Podcast (Matt Berkey (USA), Melissa Schubert (USA), Landon Tice (USA) & Friends)
Phil Galfond (USA)Poker in the Ears (James Hartigan (Ireland), Joseph Stapleton (USA) for PokerStars)
Will Jaffe (USA)PokerGO Podcast (Timothy Duckworth (Australia), Donnie Peters (USA), Remko Rinkema (Netherlands) for PokerGO)
Jamie Kerstetter (USA)The Chip Race Poker Podcast (David Lappin (Ireland), Dara O’Kearney (Ireland) for Unibet Poker)
Marle Spragg (USA)
BEST MEDIA CONTENT: WRITTEN
BEST STREAMERTim Fiorvanti (USA) for WPT.com: Andrew Moreno Made Good on a 15-Year Dream
Kevin Martin “kevinmartin” (Canada)Connor Richards (USA) for PokerNews: The Endlessly Creative Side of Poker Hall of Famer Erik Seidel
Benjamin Spragg “Spraggy” (England)Jennifer Shahade (USA) for the Wall Street Journal: How Becoming a Poker Pro Helped Me Accept a Personal Tragedy
Jon Van Fleet “apestylespoker” (USA)Robbie Strazynski (Israel/USA) for Cardplayer Lifestyle: In the Name of the Father, the Son... and the Poker
Lex Veldhuis “LexVeldhuis” (Netherlands)
BEST MEDIA CONTENT: VIDEO
BEST VLOGGERCaitlin Comeskey (USA): A love letter to the investigation parody
Jaman Burton (USA)Joey Ingram (USA): Emergency Investigation: Garrett vs. Robbi on Hustler Live
Mariano Grandoli (ARG)Gregory “Greg Goes All In” Liow (Canada): Poker vlogger who doesn’t understand that the voice over is done in post
Brad Owen (USA)Marle Spragg (USA): Solvers.
Ethan “Rampage” Yau (USA)
BEST MEDIA CONTENT: PHOTO
RISING STAR IN CONTENT CREATIONAntonio Abrego (USA) for PokerGO: “Oooooooooooo yeah!”
Natalie Bode (USA)Hayley Hochstetler (USA): Glantz Pulls Million Dollar Bounty
Caitlin Comeskey (USA)Alec Rome (USA) for PokerNews/WSOP: Schindler Wins First WSOP Bracelet
Jesse Fullen (USA)Spenser Sembrat (USA) for PokerNews/WSOP: “That First Bracelet Feeling”
Lexy Gavin-Mather (USA)
BEST INDUSTRY PERSON
Ryan Beauregard (USA)
Jack Effel (USA)
Mori Eskandani (Iran/USA)
Tana Karn (USA)

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Global Poker Awards Roll Out Categories for 2023 Awards Including Some New Additions

The Global Poker Index and Hendon Mob recently announced the final nominations for the 2023 Global Poker Awards.

The Global Poker Awards are back this year with the fourth annual ceremony set for March 3 at the PokerGO Studio at the Aria Resort and Casino in Las Vegas.

The annual ceremony is presented by the Global Poker Index (GPI) and The Hendon Mob (THM). The event recognizes some of the best in the game from play on the felt to poker content to special moments.

Organizers announced this year’s 29 categories on Monday and PokerGO will stream the ceremony starting at 5:30 pm PT.

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A look at this year’s Global Poker Awards

When the awards get underway, poker fans can expect a ceremony featuring awards for players and poker moments but also for media content, best hands, and the annual poker icon recognition.

The GPI already named players of the year earlier this month and those players will be recognized as well. These players will receive their trophies for topping the standings in 2022 in several categories.

  • Stephen Song – Player of the Year and Mid-Major Player of the Year
  • Cherish Andrews – Female Player of the Year

The GPI Players Choice trophy also returns and is voted on by the GPI top 100 ranked players. Other categories include Poker Icon, Final Table Performance, Best Blogger, and Streamer.

New awards introduced, fan voting in the mix

Organizers also added three new categories including Best Comeback Player. Voters choose from a list of star players who haven’t been ranked inside the GPI top 1,000 in any of the three previous point-scoring seasons (2018, 2019, 2022).

Content creators also get a chance at a new award. This year sees the Rising Star in Content Creation celebrate those new to content creation, but creating some buzz.

Poker fans will again have a chance to vote themselves in the final round in the Fans Choice Awards. These feature four categories, including the new “Fave Live Stream” Award. This celebrates those working in front and behind the scenes in the live poker streaming world.

Fans also get to vote for three returning categories: Best Hand, Poker Personality, and Best Trophy. In the industry awards, the Mid-Major Tour/Festival Award returns for this year’s ceremony. This trophy is up for grabs for the first time since 2020.

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Voting begins for all awards

Many of the awards are determined by voting panel members. Those preliminary round ballots went out Monday. Final round voting then begins on Jan. 29.

Final nominees are then expected to be announced on Feb. 2. Last year’s awards became the first ceremony since 2019 because of the pandemic. Among the awards handed out included Brad Owen earning Best Vlogger and Veronica Brill received Best Charitable Initiative.

Enrique Malfavon scored Photo of the Year for capturing the World Series of Poker Main Event bubble boy Kevin Campbell. GPI  posthumously awarded Poker Icon to Mike Sexton. Matt Savage earned Industry Person of the Year.

Voters named Paul Campbell as Tournament Director of the Year and the WSOP Main Event took Best Event of the Year. Here’s a look at all the categories for this year’s awards.

Fourth Annual Global Poker Awards categories

GPI Poker Player of the YearThe Hendon Mob AwardBest Broadcaster
GPI Female Player of the YearBest Twitter PersonalityBest Podcast
GPI Mid-Major Player of the YearCharitable InitiativeBest Media Content: Written
PGT Player of the YearBest StreamerBest Media Content: Video
GPI Breakout PlayerBest VloggerBest Media Content: Photo
Best Final Table PerformanceRising Star in Content CreationFans Choice: Poker Personality
Poker ICONBest Industry PersonFans Choice: Best Hand
Players' Choice for Toughest OpponentBest Tournament DirectorFans Choice: Best Trophy
Comeback PlayerBest EventFans Choice: Fave Live Stream
GPI Award of MeritBest Mid-Major Tour/Festival

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PokerStars Streamer ‘Spraggy’ Collects GPI Honor; Stapleton, Hartigan Score Podcast Award

The Global Poker Awards were held recently in Las Vegas and PokerStars' Spraggy took the Streamer of the Year honor.

The Global Poker Awards were held recently in Las Vegas at Aria’s PokerGO Studio and honored some of the best players, media, and leaders in the industry.

As poker streaming continues to grow in popularity, the awards also single out one of the top streamers in the game. The event saw PokerStars ambassador Benjamin “Spraggy” Spragg walk away with the award for “Best Streamer.”

“Thanks to everybody … who watches my stream,” Spragg said during his acceptance speech. “Obviously without them, it’s just me talking to a webcam on my own at my house.”

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Since joining Team PokerStars in 2015, Spragg has seen his Twitch poker stream grow in popularity during that time. He’s become one of the most successful streamers in the game.

The streamer category saw a packed field of talented streamers that included Lex Veldhuis, Kevin Martin, and Jonathan “apestyles” Van Fleet.

Spragg also thanked his wife for her support and the moderators who aid in his streaming efforts.

“Thank you everybody who I work with at PokerStars,” he added. “They’ve been great from day one and always given me support and resources to do my thing.

“And thank you everyone outside of PokerStars at other poker rooms, and Poker PROductions, who offer resources and support people making content. It’s a very important part I believe in growing the game. I thank everyone in those positions who make choices to give independent content creators opportunities like I’ve been given.”

Running hot, Spraggy also hits royal flush

Beyond the award and playing online, it looks like Spraggy also headed out for some live poker recently. He stayed in Las Vegas after the awards and Tweeted a hand from his action last week as well.

This particular hand saw the poker streamer land a nice royal flush. No word on the pot size or how the hand played out, but Spragg held the K♥J♥.

The Q♥J♦10♥came on the flop, giving him an open-end royal flush draw. The K♠ came on the river and then he hit the big one with the  A♥ on the river.

Things certainly seem to be going well at the tables and at the streaming mic of late for Spraggy.

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Two other team members earn GPI hardware

The awards on the night didn’t stop there for the PokerStars team. The site’s regular commentary team of James Hartigan and Joe Stapleton also walked away with some honors.

The duo earned “Best Podcast” distinction for the “Poker in the Ears” podcast.

“Wow, thank you guys,” Stapleton, who is also a standup comedian, said in accepting the honor. “I did write something, but this was unexpected. This is actually a very cool win because this is not my win. I’m here accepting all the praise and the fanfare, and all the compliments, and hopefully all the sexual energy from this table over here.

“I get to receive all that, but I didn’t really win this. The show did, which is very, very cool. It’s not just me. Me and Hartigan and the people at PokerStars, who trust us and give us the resources to do our thing, all get to share in this. And I want you to know that there are people at PokerStars who care about putting out the best content in the entire poker industry.”

The return of the awards followed a 23-month hiatus, making the night’s celebrations a bit more special for those attending. For a complete look at all the night’s awards, click here.

★★★ Ready to get in the action at PokerStars? Click here for a complete site review with exclusive PokerScout bonus offers. ★★★

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PokerGO, GPI Reach Deal on Streaming Global Poker Awards in Las Vegas Through 2024

The GPI announced an agreement with PokerGO this week that will see the service streaming the Global Poker Awards through 2024.

The Global Poker Index (GPI) has carved out a niche in the poker world ranking the game’s best players. Over the last few years, the site’s Global Poker Awards have also recognized greatness within the game.

The company announced an agreement with PokerGO this week that will see the service streaming the awards through 2024. Like the first editions in 2019 and 2020, the 2022 ceremony will be in Las Vegas at the PokerGO Studio. 

Because of COVID-19, GPI canceled the awards ceremony in 2021 and will resume in March 2022. The Global Poker Index is part of Mediarex Group sports and entertainment, which also includes Hendon Mob (THM). The awards celebrate notable poker players, media, and industry pioneers.

“We are honored to be a part of celebrating the accomplishments of the most renowned figures in the poker industry,” GPI/THM President Eric Danis said in a news release.

“After having to cancel this year’s ceremony due to the pandemic, we are so excited to welcome the poker world once again to the Global Poker Awards in March 2022 and for years to come.”

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What to expect from 2022 awards

When the awards resume in 2022, poker fans will see more than 20 awards presented. Some of those regularly given out include:

  • GPI Player of the Year
  • GPI Female Player of the Year
  • Poker Icon
  • Players’ Choice Award for Best All-Around Poker Player
  • People’s Choice Award for Hand of the Year

“The Global Poker Awards recognize and celebrate the most elite poker players and significant figures making a notable difference in the industry,” PokerGO President Mori Eskandani said.

“At PokerGO, we aim to give credit to those who make a splash in our sport, and holding these awards in the PokerGO Studio for the next three years allows us to do so.”

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A look back at 2019-20

The last Global Poker Awards saw some of the biggest names in poker collect hardware for 2019 performances. Alex Foxen picked up Player of the Year for the second straight year. Kristen Bicknell claimed the Female Player of the Year for the third year in a row.

As of Thursday, American Nick Pupillo stood atop the standings for 2021. However, Foxen also has a shot to add another title and is currently in seventh.

Bicknell, a partypoker ambassador, remains at the top of the standings on the female side of the rankings. She could be in line for a fourth straight award.

Australia’s Robert Cambell won the award for Breakout Player of the Year. The honor came after a huge World Series of Poker performance that included two bracelet wins.

Phillip Hui took Final Table Performance of the Year for winning the WSOP Poker Players Championship. He won the event for $1.1 million at a final table that included Josh Arieh, John Esposito, Bryce Yockey, Shaun Deeb, and Dan Cates. 

The annual Icon Award went to Johnny Chan. Other winners included:

  • Stephen Chidwick – Players Choice for Toughest Opponent
  • Paul Phua (Triton Poker) – Industry Person of the Year
  • Matt Savage (World Poker Tour) – Tournament Director of the Year
  • PokerStars Players Championship Bahamas – Event of the Year