After a year off due to COVID-19, the Global Poker Awards are coming back in March, taking place at the PokerGO Studio in Las Vegas.
PokerGO will again partner with the Global Poker Index to live-stream the event. GPI was able to barely sneak in last year’s awards ceremony just days before Las Vegas shut down.
Poker Central, which created the subscription-based PokerGO app, began partnering with GPI in 2019 to host the Global Poker Awards. The ceremony was previously known as the American Poker Awards. Each year, dozens of poker players and media members get together to celebrate the top accomplishments on and off the felt from within the industry.
The awards show has a similar format to the Academy Awards, albeit on a much smaller scale. Nominees compete for recognition in approximately a dozen categories, with the winners taking home a commemorative trophy.
What to expect from the 2022 Global Poker Awards
There will be more than 20 trophies up for grabs when the awards return, including awards for the 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, and additional awards to be selected later on.
Alex Foxen and Kristen Bicknell, a popular poker couple, shipped the GPI Player of the Year and GPI Female Player of the Year awards for the past two years (2018 and 2019). Eric Danis, President of the Global Poker Index, chatted with PokerGO’s Jeff Platt on YouTube to discuss the upcoming awards ceremony. He explained why the Global Poker Awards was canceled in 2021.
“For most of us, it’s been a rough year, and it just didn’t make sense Covid-wise to host awards, obviously not live because that would not have been possible,” Danis said. “Even here in Las Vegas with looser restrictions, it just would not have made sense. And, to be fair, the subject matter itself, it just seemed like people’s heads were away from poker too much in order to host a proper awards ceremony.”
Live poker is quickly returning now that vaccinations are ramping up around the world and COVID-19 restrictions are beginning to fade in many places. By March 2022, there should be plenty of events and accomplishments to celebrate.
You can catch the show on-demand on the PokerGO app.
