It was bound to happen eventually. For the first time ever, the world of poker will gather together at one time to celebrate the excellence of the community and the achievements of its players. On April 5, the First Annual Global Poker Awards will be held and will be broadcast live over the streaming PokerGO channel.
20 Awards, Worldwide Recognition
A grand total of 20 awards will be given out at these ceremonies, although there isn’t a solid list of the awards as of yet. Prior to the awards, a panel will nominate the players and/or contributors who will be the potential recipients of the awards, with another “jury made up of industry representatives” determining who will win the final awards. The end results? The awards show, the Global Poker Awards, which will be handed out on April 5.
“We’re thrilled to deliver streaming coverage of the first-ever Global Poker Awards show live from the PokerGO Studio,” said Sam Simmons, president of Poker Central. “We look forward to celebrating the achievements of the industry’s best and brightest while providing PokerGO subscribers a front row seat for all the festivities.”
“Our global initiatives behind the European Poker Awards and the American Poker Awards come together starting this year,” said Eric Danis, Global Poker Index president. “We’re excited to bring recognition to the poker world’s best players and most prominent industry contributors on an unprecedented scale.”
You Read That Right…No More European or American Poker Awards
Danis’ comment is spot on in that the history that was covered in the European Poker Awards – and the building of a prestigious award in the American Poker Awards – will be destroyed by this move in that they will no longer be awarded.
This is particularly saddening in the case of the European Poker Awards. Those awards date back to 2001 and have honored a venerable “Who’s Who” of the European poker community. As European players have routinely been given short shrift by their American counterparts (are you listening, Poker Hall of Fame?), the European Poker Awards was something that the continent’s superstars could hang their hats on. Now, it is no more.
Such notables as Pascal Perrault (the first ever winner of the European Poker Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2001), multiple European Poker Award winners Marcel Luske, Rob Hollink and Victoria Coren-Mitchell, Gus Hansen, and the late Dave Colclough and David Ulliott all have European Poker Awards on their respective mantles. And since poker seems to have a difficulty in honoring its history, the European Poker Awards were something that aficionados of the game could hang onto since it had been awarded for almost two decades; the World Series of Poker and the Irish Poker Open are the only other things that can count such longevity.
The American Poker Awards was also on its way to building up a nice historical frame of reference. Awarded since 2015 in ceremonies held in Los Angeles, the American Poker Awards were becoming something that North American players and industry contributors were looking forward to as an honor. Multiple American Poker Awards recipients included Jason Mercier, tournament director Matt Savage, Mike Sexton, Daniel Negreanu, Vanessa Selbst and a host of media personalities who have covered the game for the fans.
Alas, these separate awards – and their histories – have now come to an end.
Perhaps Some Excitement Will Build…
Whereas there used to be a huge buzz over the European version and the American version would have been scheduled for its ceremonies this month (the last four years saw it at the end of February/beginning of March), the announcement of the change to the Global Poker Awards brought little commentary from the very people they are looking to honor. Perhaps that will change once the GPI actually come up with nominees and maybe hold it in some area that isn’t a television studio on April 5…but it also may not be able to capture the magic that the old European and American ceremonies generated.
