A cross-section of the poker world's most prominent personalities gathered on Friday evening in Las Vegas for the 4th Global Poker Awards. The gala, held at the PokerGO Studio adjacent to the Aria, saw 29 awards presented in categories that spanned the playing, industry, and media segments of poker. The ceremony recognized the game's greatest achievements throughout 2022.
While a few of the winners of player-based awards were pre-determined, the majority of the honors represented the winners of a multi-round voting process. Popular vlogger Ethan "Rampage" Yau captured trophies in both the Best Vlogger and Fans' Choice: Poker Personality categories, joining GPI Overall and Mid-Major leader Stephen Song as 2022's only double GPA winners.
Other highlights from the ceremony, which was also live-streamed by PokerGO, included Robbi Jade Lew's controversial "J-4" hand against Garrett Adelstein on a Hustler Casino Live stream being voted as Best Hand for 2022.
Angela Jordison, who narrowly missed two of the three GPI points-based honors, still took the top honor as 2022's Breakout Player. Phil Ivey was named the year's Comeback Player, while Daniel "Jungleman" Cates and Stephen Chidwick also claimed GPA wins.
Tournament venues and content creators honored
Tournament venues and staff were featured in several categories, with the best in each honored on Friday. December's WPT World Championship at Wynn Las Vegas won the Best Event award, while the WSOP Main Event winner's bracelet claimed the Best Trophy honor. The RunGood Poker Series snagged the Best Mid-Major Tour award for the third time.
Content creators were also honored in several ways. Jennifer Shahade, Greg Liow, and Hayley Hochstetler were honored for written, video, and photographic content, respectively. James Hartigan, perhaps aided by a Joe Stapleton publicity campaign, picked up the award for Best Broadcaster. Kevin Martin picked up a Best Streamer win, while the Only Friends podcast, headed by Matt Berkey, claimed the Best Podcast award.
The special Poker ICON award was presented to Gabe Kaplan, the recently retired co-commentator of "High Stakes Poker".
Jordison's acceptance speech wrenches viewers hearts
Many of the night's honorees offered heartfelt stories from their own trips through the poker world. Perhaps none was more heart-wrenching than that of Breakout Player winner Jordison, who told the live and online audience about her many poker-related memories playing with her father, who died in 2020.
On the day before her father's death, as he lied in hospice care, Jordison made a promise to win "something big" for him. As she fought, haltingly, for the words, she told the gathering that she believed winning the Breakout Player honor had just fulfilled that vow.
The complete list of 2022 GPA award winners is as follows:
Breakout Player
Angela Jordison
Final Table Performance
Dan "Jungleman" Cates (WSOP Poker Player’s Championship)
Comeback Player
Phil Ivey
Poker ICON
Gabe Kaplan
Twitter Personality
Will Jaffe
Best Streamer
Kevin Martin
Best Vlogger
Ethan "Rampage" Yau
Rising Star in Content Creation
Caitlin Comeskey
Industry Person
Jack Effel
Tournament Director
Ray Pulford
Best Event
WPT World Championship at Wynn Las Vegas
Mid-Major Tour/Circuit
RunGOOD Poker Series
Best Broadcaster
James Hartigan
Best Podcast
Only Friends Podcast
Media Content: Written
Jennifer Shahade (Wall Street Journal)
Media Content: Video
Greg ‘Goes All In’ Liow
Media Content: Best Photo
Hayley Hochstetler
Players Choice for Toughest Opponent
Stephen Chidwick
Fans Choice: Best Hand
Robbi Jade Lew
Fans Choice: Fave Live Stream
Hustler Casino Live
Fans Choice: Poker Personality
Ethan "Rampage" Yau
Fans Choice: Best Trophy
WSOP Main Event Bracelet
(previously announced winners below)
Charitable Initiative: Star Gold Coast
GPI Female PoY: Cherish Andrews
GPI Mid Major PoY: Stephen Song
GPI PoY: Stephen Song
PokerGO Tour POY: Stephen Chidwick
Featured image source: PokerGO / GPI
