Nominations Process Begins for 2023 Global Poker Awards

The 5th Annual Global Poker Awards will take place on February 24th at the PokerGo studios in Las Vegas. Although it is only in its 5th year, the prestigious annual awards originally started as the European Poker Awards, morphing into a global gong ceremony by 2019. Originally launched in 2001 by Poker in Europe magazine editor Nic Szeremeta, the European Poker Awards was an annual event up until 2015. It then moved across the Atlantic and became the American Poker Awards, before transforming in 2019 into its current identity as the Global Poker Awards.

It’s not just the geographical catchment areas that have changed, the number of awards has greatly increased in recent years, with much more emphasis on content creation than before. The awards seek to recognise the efforts of players, staff and media via 29 awards in several different categories. As you would expect, this includes headline awards such as the GPI Poker Player of the Year, Best Event, Best Final Table Performance, Breakout Player and Best Hand.

While previously the European Poker Awards had included a Casino Person of the Year category, there are now no fewer than eleven awards that recognise the efforts of the wider poker community and those seeking to both popularise the game and inform and entertain poker audiences. It could even be twelve, depending on whom the Poker Icon title is awarded to. Let’s not forget that the poker audience is not simply a passive body of viewers and content consumers, as unlike typical sports fans, poker enthusiasts are more likely to be active players than couch potatoes.

Most of the award winners are determined by a voting panel, however some awards are voted on by fans, some are decided by GPI rankings and some are chosen by GPI itself. The voting panel is comprised of a wide group of people who either work in the industry, play poker or in most cases, do both. For integrity, panel members may not disclose their participation until after the award ceremony itself.

The selection process for awards determined by the voting panel is already underway, with members being asked to make preliminary selections, in order to whittle down the number of candidates in each category to at least the last eight (in some categories there may be more than eight). Once these short-lists are compiled the voting panel will make their final choices. The four candidates with the most votes in each category will then be revealed and the winners will be announced at the award ceremony in February.

However, some of the categories will follow a different process and there are four award categories that anyone can vote on, these being:

In all but the Most Entertaining Player category the voting panel will determine the short-lists for these awards, which fans then have the opportunity to vote on. However the personality award Fans Choice for the Most Entertaining Player will be entirely based upon fan votes, both to determine the short list and the eventual winner. Voting in this and the other fan choice categories will soon be possible via the GPI website.

There are four new award categories added this year and just two that have been dropped.  The only categories to be discontinued are Rising Star in Content Creation, which in 2022 was won by Caitlin Comesky and Best Comeback, which was secured by Phil Ivey. The new categories are

The names of the Global Poker Awards nominees are a closely guarded secret, so its not possible to discuss who might be in the running for any of the 2023 awards, but that doesn’t stop us taking a look at last year’s winners. 

Breakout Player: Angela Jordison

Final Table Performance: Dan ‘Jungleman’ Cates

Comeback Player: Phil Ivey

Poker Icon: Gabe Kaplan

Twitter Personality: Will Jaffe

Best Streamer: Kevin Martin

Best Vlogger: Ethan ‘Rampage’ Yau

Rising Star in Content Creation: Caitlin Comeskey

Industry Person: Jack Effel

Tournament Director: Ray Pulford

Best Event: WPT World Championship at Wynn Las Vegas

Mid-Major Tour/Circuit: RunGOOD Poker Series

Best Broadcaster: James Hartigan 

Best Podcast: Only Friends Podcast

Media Content Written: Jennifer Shahade (Wall Street Journal)

Media Content Video: Greg ‘Goes All In’ Liow

Media Content Best Photo: Hayley Hochstetler

Players Choice for Toughest Opponent: Stephen Chidwick

Fans Choice Best Hand: Robbi Jade Lew

Fans Choice Live Stream: Hustler Casino Live

Fans Choice Poker Personality: Ethan ‘Rampage’ Yau

Fans Choice Best Trophy: WSOP Main Event Bracelet

Charitable Initiative: Star Gold Coast

GPI Female Player of the the Year: Cherish Andrews

GPI Mid Major Player of the Year: Stephen Song

GPI Player of the Year: Stephen Song

PokerGo Tour Player of the Year: Stephen Chidwick

The 2022 awards were dominated by three players, who each won two awards. Ethan ‘Rampage’ Yau was the first of these, picking up the gongs for Best Vlogger and Fans Choice Poker Personality. UK high stakes supremo Stephen Chidwick won the Players Choice for Toughest Opponent and the PokerGo Tour Player of the Year awards. Stephen Song won both the GPI Mid Major Player of the Year and the GPI Player of the Year trophies. Will there be any double winners, or repeat winners in 2023?