Global Poker Index (GPI) has announced the nominees for the 15th European Poker Awards ceremony set to take place on May 3 in Monte Carlo. The ceremony aims to honor the most deserving persons from the poker world, including players, poker media persons and “behind the scenes” men and women responsible for organizing the events and improving the overall playing experience.
Two European Poker Awards winners already known
While winners in most categories are determined through voting, two players have already secured their awards through their achievements on the felt. German superstar Fedor Holz will be named the GPI Player of the Year while Liv Boeree, PokerStars Team Pro member, will take home the trophy reserved for the GPI Female Player of the Year.
European Poker Awards player nominations
Apart from these two categories, there are a few others in which the select few will be competing for the prestigious trophies. In the category Breakout Player of the Year, Fedor Holz will be hoping to secure his second award at this year’s European Poker Awards ceremony. In order to win, however, he will have to edge out in front of Dzmitry Urbanovich, Rainer Kempe and Charlie Carrel.
Holz is also in the running for the Tournament Performance of the Year for his victory in the WPT Alpha8 event. His competition in this category is made up by Mustapha Kanit, Barny Boatman and Adrian Mateos.
European Poker Awards Industry and media nominees
Players are not the only ones who will be honored during the ceremony. Different people from the poker milieu who contributed to the game development and popularization will be recognized as well.
In the category Media Person of the Year, there are four names whose work has been recognized by the event organizers and their peers. They are Lee Davy, Neil Stoddart, Remko Rinkema and Frank Op de Woerd.
Nominated for the Industry Person of the Year are Rob Yong (Dusk till Dawn poker room owner) Hermance Blum (WPT Europe General Manager), Edgar Stuchly (EPT President), Luca Vivaldi (Assistant Tournament Director for PokerStars events) and Thomas Lamatsch (PokerStars Tournament Director for Europe).
Other European Poker Awards nominations
There are several other categories that will be recognized at the ceremony. PokerStars has two standing nominations in the Poker Innovation or Initiative of the Year category.
The category for the Event of the Year has two tiers (buy-in under €2,000 and over €2,000) and includes several EPT events as well as World Series of Poker Main Event.
Poker fans will certainly appreciate the nominations in two interesting categories: Moment of the Year and Poker Media Content of the Year. The former includes several intense moments and great plays from the felt, while the latter is reserved for the most interesting and touching content published during the year.
PokerNews article “Devilfish: A Friend with a Heart of Gold” by Jesse and Mickey May is one of four nominations in the Poker Media Content category.
Importance of European Poker Awards
GPI European Poker Awards recognize players and other poker industry members for their achievements on and off the green felt. By doing this year after year, the ceremony strives to bring people from different branches of the industry together and demonstrate that their hard work and efforts are not forgotten.