The latest group of poker standouts includes a couple of surprise names
The 5th Annual Global Poker Awards were held on Saturday, February 24, in Las Vegas to recognize the accomplishments of players, organizers and content creators for live and online poker.
The evening’s main winners included Daniel Sepiol for his performance at the final table in the WPT World Championship. WPT CEO Adam Pliska took home the award for Best Industry Person and the Best Event of the Year for the World Series of Poker Main Event.
“It’s a testament to how popular poker is right now, and the (WSOP) Main Event continues to be the undisputed world championship and the tournament of the year that everybody wants to win,” said WSOP tournament director Matt Savage in a heartfelt speech. It was the largest WSOP Main Event ever, with 10,043 entries and total prize guarantees of just under $500 million for the series.
The Chip Race won Best Podcast for the second time in three years, which recognizes the combined talents of the show’s hosts, David Lappin, Barry Carter and Dara O’Kearney.
Greg “Goes All In” Liow accepted several awards on behalf of winners not present and for himself. He would win the night’s final award for Personality of the Year. Greg and Caitlin Comeskey both won awards for the second straight year, with Caitlin going from 2022’s Best Newcomer to winning this year’s Best Short Content Producer.
On the player’s side, Stephen Chidwick is still the only player ever to win the Players Choice award for Toughest Opponent, taking the trophy for the third consecutive year. PokerStars Live team and EPT tournament director Toby Stone also had a successful night, winning the TD trophy and Best Live Stream.
The late Doyle Brunson would also be honored in a memorial video and was the inaugural winner of the Poker Icon award.
