Global Poker Index celebrated the best of the poker industry for the sixth time in Las Vegas on Saturday with its awards show. Emceed by Jeff Platt and Drea Renee, 38 trophies were handed out to the best performers of 2024 at PokerGO Studios at the Aria.
David Coleman earned enough GPI points through 2024 to earn its Poker Player of the Year Prize. Coleman had a breakout year, cashing 48 times, and winning six events — the only six victories of his career.
Coleman finished a razor-thin 9.32 points ahead of Jesse Lonis, who won the award for Most Weeks at GPI #1.
Lonis would have scooped two awards, but fell out of top spot in December by the slimmest margin just before Christmas when Colman earned 217.32 points for finishing 11th in a $1,400 event at the World Poker Tour Championships.
Han Feng took the Mid-Major Player of the Year award for his stellar 2024.
And Cherish “Dumptruck69” Andrews won her second GPI Female Player of the Year, inching out Kristen Foxen by 199.52 points. She was also the runner-up behind Feng in the Mid-Majors category.
Several players already owned a GPI trophy, but there were quite a few newbies in the mix. They were: Adrian Mateos, Rania Nasreddine, Jeremy Ausmus, Jesse Lonis, Abby Merk, Francine Watson, Luca Vivaldi, Ryan Beauregard, Nikki Limo, and Danny Maxwell.
And in the best emcee voice, “and the winners are”:
GPI POKER PLAYER OF THE YEAR
David Coleman (USA)
GPI MID-MAJOR PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Han Feng (USA)
GPI FEMALE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Cherish Andrews (USA)
MOST WEEKS AT GPI #1 IN 2024
Jesse Lonis (USA)
POKERGO TOUR PGT PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Jeremy Ausmus (USA)
List of Winners:
GPI BREAKOUT PLAYER
Rania Nasreddine (USA)
BEST FINAL TABLE PERFORMANCE
Barny Boatman (England), EPT Paris
PLAYERS CHOICE FOR TOUGHEST OPPONENT
Adrian Mateos (Spain)
BEST X/TWITTER PERSONALITY
Barry Carter (England)
BEST STREAMER
Benjamin Spragg – Spraggy (England)
BEST VLOGGER
Brad Owen (USA)
BEST SHORT-FORM CONTENT CREATOR
Marle Spragg – Marle Poker (USA)
RISING STAR IN CONTENT CREATION
Abby Merk – Abby Poker (USA)
BEST INDUSTRY PERSON
Francine Watson (England)
BEST TOURNAMENT DIRECTOR
Luca Vivaldi (Italy)
BEST DIRECTOR OF POKER OPERATIONS
Ryan Beauregard (USA)
BEST EVENT
World Series of Poker Main Event, Horseshoe Las Vegas
BEST MID-MAJOR TOUR/CIRCUIT
Brazilian Series of Poker (BSOP)
BEST STAND-ALONE FESTIVAL/SERIES
Irish Poker Open, Royal Dublin Society
BEST EPISODIC POKER SERIES
The Big Game on Tour by PokerStars
BEST ON-AIR TALENT
Jeffrey Platt (USA)
BEST PODCAST
The Chip Race (David K Lappin, Dara O’Kearney for Unibet Poker)
BEST POKER BOOK
Beyond GTO: Poker Exploits Simplified (Dara O’Kearney, Barry Carter)
BEST MEDIA CONTENT: WRITTEN
A Further Investigation into the Existence of the BotFarm Corporation (Jonathan Raab for Poker Pro)
BEST MEDIA CONTENT: VIDEO
The Four Rules of the Poker Kings (Greg Clark, BBC Scotland)
BEST MEDIA CONTENT: SHORT-FORM VIDEO
Nikki Limo (USA) – What’s it like playing poker as a woman
BEST MEDIA CONTENT: PHOTO
Danny Maxwell (Ireland) – Barny GOATMAN
BEST JOURNALIST
Brad Willis (USA)
BEST LIVE TOURNAMENT REPORTER
Mickey Doft (USA)
BEST HAND (FANS CHOICE)
Xuan Liu stars in Wild Hand at The Lodge
MOST ENTERTAINING PLAYER (FANS CHOICE)
Alejandro “Papo MC” Lococo (Argentina)
MOST ORIGINAL TROPHY DESIGN (FANS CHOICE)
PGT Texas Poker Open Belt Buckle
BEST POKER LIVE STREAM (FANS CHOICE)
Poker at The Lodge
BEST POKER ROOM (FANS CHOICE)
Playground Poker Club Montreal, Canada
GPI AWARD OF MERIT
Gene Calden
THE HENDON MOB AWARD
Dominick French
CHARITABLE/COMMUNITY INITIATIVE
Poker Gives
