Bereits am Freitag wurden in Las Vegas in insgesamt 20 Kategorien die Global Poker Awards vergeben.
Nachdem es in den Jahren zuvor noch die American Poker Awards und eine europäische Entsprechung gegeben hatte, kamen die Europäer dieses Jahr nach zu der Zusammenlegung kaum vor.
Bei den Journalisten wurde Christian Zetzsche zwar nominiert, den Preis erhielt aber Sarah Herring. Zwei Preise staubten die Europäer dann aber doch ab: Lex Veldhuis wurde zum besten Streamer gekürt, und Chris Moorman erhielt den PocketFives Legacy Award.
Die Vergabe des POY-Preises an Alex Foxen bzw. Kristen Bicknell war durch den GPI bereits im Vorfeld klar, daneben wurden u.a. John Cynn für die beste Turnierleistung, Ali Imsirovic als Aufsteiger des Jahres und Doyle Brunson für seine Lebensleistung ausgezeichnet.
Hier alle Nominierten und im Fettdruck der jeweilige Gewinner:
Tournament Performance: John Cynn (WSOP Main Event)
- Justin Bonomo (Super High Roller Bowl IV)
- John Cynn (WSOP Main Event)
- Maria Lampropulos (PCA Main Event)
- Dylan Linde (WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic)
Breakout Player of the Year: Almedin “Ali” Imsirovic
- Almedin “Ali” Imsirovic
- Maria Konnikova
- Ping Liu
- Christopher Michael Soyza
Streamer Of The Year: Lex Veldhuis
- Jeff Gross
- Jason Somerville
- Jaime Staples
- Lex Veldhuis
Vlogger Of The Year: Andrew Neeme
- Marle Cordeiro
- Joe Ingram
- Andrew Neeme
- Daniel Negreanu
- Doug Polk
Podcast of the Year: The Chip Race Poker Podcast
- LFG Podcast (Chad Holloway, Jamie Kerstetter)
- PokerCentral Podcast (Brent Hanks, Remko Rinkema)
- PokerNews Podcast (Sarah Herring, Jeff Platt)
- The Chip Race Poker Podcast (David Lappin, Dara O’Kearney)
- The Fives a PocketFives.com Podcast (Lance Bradley, Donnie Peters)
Broadcaster of the Year: Maria Ho
- Maria Ho
- Lon McEachern
- Nick Schulman
- Lex Veldhuis
Poker Journalist of the Year: Sarah Herring
- Drew Amato
- Sarah Herring
- Remko Rinkema
- Christian Zetzsche
Media Content of the Year: Lance Bradley (book: The Pursuit of Poker Success)
- Drew Amato (photo: Brunson bids farewell to WSOP)
- Lance Bradley (book: The Pursuit of Poker Success)
- Haley Hintze (article: Vayo v. PokerStars)
- PokerCentral/GO (Super High Roller Club: Schulman featuring Nejad)
Industry Person: Angelica Hael
- Angelica Hael(World Poker Tour)
- Cary Katz (Poker Central)
- Matt Savage (WPT, TDA, more)
- Ty Stewart (World Series of Poker)
- Rob Yong (Dusk Till Dawn, partypoker)
Tournament Director of the Year: Paul Campbell (ARIA)
- Tony Burns (Seminole Hard Rock)
- Paul Campbell (ARIA)
- Jack Effel (WSOP)
- Kenny Halleart (Unibet Open)
Mid-Major Tour/Circuit of the Year: RUNGOOD Poker Series
- 888poker Live
- RUNGOOD Poker Series
- Unibet Open
- WPTDeepStacks
- WSOP Circuit
Event Of The Year: WSOP Main Event
- partypoker Caribbean Poker Party Main Event
- Super High Roller Bowl IV
- WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic
- WSOP Main Event
Moment Of The Year: Justin Bonomo wins Big One for One Drop, completing Super High Roller Streak
- Jeremy Hilsercop receives PSPC Platinum Pass (with help from Joe Ingram, Arlie Shaban, PokerStars, and the poker community) as video of wife gifting him a trip to WSOP on Christmas day goes viral
- Joe Cada wins WSOP The Closer; registering for the event moments after a remarkable 5th place finish in WSOP Main Event
- Doyle Brunson plays his final WSOP event
- Justin Bonomo wins Big One for One Drop, completing Super High Roller Streak (SHRB China, SHRB IV, One Drop)
Weitere Ehrungen:
- 2018 GPI Poker Player of the Year: Alex Foxen
- 2018 GPI Female Player of the Year: Kristen Bicknell
- Award for Lifetime Achievement in Poker: Doyle Brunson
- Charitable Initiative: Robbie Strazynskifor his Run Well Campaign
- Jury Prize: Drew Amato
- PocketFives Legacy Award: Chris Moorman
- People’s Choice Award for Poker Personality of the Year: Brad Owen
