PokerGo hosted the 5th Global Poker Awards in their Studio at ARIA Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, on Saturday February 24. The studio was star-studded, having Poker legends, industry members, and pro players. The award show was broadcast live on PokerGo.com. GPI honored top poker performers of 2023 and industry members with 29 Awards.
Jeff Platt and Drea Renne led the award ceremony, and they have been hosting the GPA since 2022. Other poker industry members, and previous year’s winners presented the awards in their winning category. Jeff Platt also was the nominee in the Best Broadcaster category, but he lost to Ali Nejad.
GPA awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award to the late Doyle Brunson for his achievements and contribution to the game of poker, which was received by his close friend Mori Eskandani.
GPA honored the best performers of 2023, with Bin Weng taking GPI Player of the Year, Nick Pupillo winning the Mid-Major Player of the Year, and Kristen Foxen winning the GPI Female Player of the Year. Isaac Haxton won the PokerGo Tour Player of the Year, with over 14 cashes for over $7 million in a year on the PGT that included four wins.
Casey Kastle won the Hendon Mob Award for becoming the first poker player to cash in 50 different countries, while Jans Arends won the GPI Breakout Player for his recent year performances. India’s Santhosh Suvarna was also nominated for the GPI Breakout Player award. His nomination was based on his outstanding performance in 2023. Although he lost it to Arends, the nomination itself was noteworthy and marked a milestone for Indian poker.
World Poker Tour and PokerStars won multiple awards in the 5th Global Poker Awards. WPT won the Best Mid-Major Circuit/Tour honor for their Prime Championship, while their president Adam Pliska won Best Industry Person.
PokerStars’ Tobey Stone, who is the reason behind the growth of the European Poker Tour, was voted as the Best Tournament Director. PokerStars Live crew won the award for Best Stream. Sadly, they weren’t in Las Vegas to receive the award as the EPT Paris t is going on.
The World Series of Poker Main Event won the Best Event award, while the Wynn Millions won Best Stand-Alone Festival/Series. PokerGO won Best Media Content: Video for Doyle Brunson’s Celebration of Life.
Here is the complete list of 5th Global Poker Award Winners.
| Category | Winner | |
| GPI Poker Player of the Year | Bin Weng | |
| GPI Female Player of the Year | Kristen Foxen | |
| GPI Mid-Major Player of the Year | Nick Pupillo | |
| PGT Player of the Year | Isaac Haxton | |
| GPI Breakout Player | Jans Arends | |
| Best Final Table Performance | Daniel Sepiol – WPT World Championship at Wynn Las Vegas | |
| The Hendon Mob Award | Casey Kastle | |
| Poker ICON | Doyle Brunson | |
| Players’ Choice for Toughest Opponent | Stephen Chidwick | |
| Best X/Twitter Personality | Marle Spragg | |
| Charitable/Community Initiative | Nadya Magnus | |
| Best Streamer | Bert Stevens | |
| Best Vlogger | Jaman Burton | |
| Best Short-Form Content Creator | Caitlin Comeskey | |
| Best Industry Person | Adam Pliska – WPT | |
| Best Tournament Director | Toby Stone | |
| Best Event | WSOP Main Event | |
| Best Stand-Alone Festival/Series | Wynn Millions | |
| Best Mid-Major Tour/Circuit | WPT Prime | |
| Best Broadcaster | Ali Nejad | |
| Best Podcast | The Chip Race | |
| Best Media Content: Written | David Hill – The Tales of Billy Baxter: The Final Days of Stu Ungar | |
| Best Media Content: Video | PokerGO – Doyle Brunson Celebration of Life | |
| Best Media Content: Photo | Rachel Winter | |
| Fans Choice: Poker Personality | Greg “Greg Goes All-In” Liow | |
| Fans Choice: Best Hand | Craziest Pre-Flop Action of ALL-TIME at Triton Poker Series London | |
| Fans Choice: Best Trophy | Asian Poker Tour Taipei Lion Trophy | |
| Fans Choice: Best Livestream Production | PokerStars Live | |
| GPI Award of Merit | Game of Gold – GGPoker |
Image Credit: GPI
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