Global Poker Index European Poker Awards
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2014 PokerStars.fr EPT Deauville
Global Poker Index European Poker Awards
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Welcome to the Global Poker Index European Poker Awards!
Hello, and welcome to the Global Poker Index (GPI) European Poker Awards, which are taking placed at the Salle des Ambassadeurs in the Casino Barrière de Deauville. This is the 13th edition of the awards, and PokerNews is happy to be here providing live coverage from the event.
First, let's take a look at the rough timetable for the evening.
- 8:30-9 p.m.: GPI Player of the Year Awards
- 9-10 p.m.: Dinner
- 10 p.m.: GPI European Poker Awards
Following dinner, it's the latter awards that are the most intriguing to be given out, and they've been voted on by a panel of eight poker figures. We also know that Ole Schemion has won the 2013 GPI Player of the Year and Ana Marquez has won Female Player of the Year.
That aside, here's who's up for what:
| Award | Nominees |
|---|---|
| Rookie of the Year: | Max Altergott (Germany) |
| Matthew Ashton (England) | |
| Martin Finger (Germany) | |
| Adrian Mateos Diaz (Spain) | |
| Best Tournament Performance: | Barny Boatman (England) |
| Philipp Gruissem (Germany) | |
| Roger Hairabedian (France) | |
| Marvin Rettenmaier (Germany) | |
| Ole Schemion (Germany) | |
| Internet Player of the Year: | Viktor Blom (Sweden) |
| Niklas Heinecker (Germany) | |
| Toby Lewis (England) | |
| Chris Moorman (England) | |
| Poker Industry Person of the Year: | Marc Convey, poker journalist and broadcaster (England) |
| Lee Davy, poker journalist and podcast personality (England) | |
| Neil Johnson, PokerStars Live Poker Specialist (England) | |
| Edgar Stuchly, EPT President and Director of Pokerstars Live Events Europe (Austria) | |
| Best Event of the Year: | EPT Barcelona |
| EPT Grand Final Monte Carlo | |
| Full Tilt Poker Galway Festival | |
| Prague Poker Festival | |
| Lifetime Achievement Award: | --TBD-- |
The panel that voted on the awards listed above are as follows:
- Nic Szeremeta, honorary president of the GPI European Poker Awards
- Stephen Chidwick, poker player and winner of the 2013 UK Player of the Year Award
- Alexandre Dreyfus, GPI and The Hendon Mob
- Bruno Fitoussi, GPI European Poker Awards president
- Bertand “Elky” Grospellier, poker player
- Chris Hall, journalist
- Sandra Naujoks, poker player
- Luca Pagano, poker player
Chidwick, who was late to the voting process due to still being in the EPT Deauville Main Event, will himself receive an award this evening as he's picked up the UK Player of the Year. That victory was based on his performance in 2013, and he's not the only one who knows they've locked up an award.
Other Player of the Year winners in their respective countries are:
[LIST][*]Joni Jouhkimainen (Finland)
[*]Benjamin Pollak (UK)
[*]Dermot Blain (Ireland)
[*]Dario Sammartino (Italy)
[*]Govert Metaal (Netherlands)
[*]Adrian Mateos Diaz (Spain)
[*]Davidi Kitai (Belgium)
Stay tuned for the kickoff of the awards ceremony to begin shortly!
Running Late
The event is running a touch late, but Joe Stapleton is on the stage and just welcomed Alex Dreyfus to give out the first nine awards of the evening. Here we go.
Time to Hand Out Some Awards
Let's get this show on the road, Joe Stapleton and Gaëlle Garcia Diaz are your hosts for the evening, first up the individual country Player of the Year's so with out further ado...
POY Finland: Joni Jouhkimainen: GPI 300 Rank = #14
The most smartly dressed of them all was Joni Jouhkimainen who also gave one of the longer awards speeches of the evening saying: “It’s an honour to be here, the competition in Finland was really tough, I obviously ran really good. I hope to be here next year too. The Finn's greatest success came in High Roller events in 2013.
Cashed for $ 809,705 in 2013, lifetime earnings of $ 1,870,011.
Three Biggest scores in 2013 (total cashes = 21) :
1) EPT Barcelona: € 10,000 + 300 No Limit Hold'em - High Roller Re-Entry – 4th, € 148,000
2) EPT Berlin € 10,000 + 300 No Limit Hold'em - High Roller Re-Entry - 6th, € 68,600
3) European Masters of Poker IV, € 1,000 + 100 No Limit Hold'em - Main Event, 1st, € 56,860
POY France: Benjamin Pollak: GPI 300 Rank = #133
Next up was France's Player of the Year, there was no speech, just a quick 'Merci' before Bnejamin Pollak left the stage trophy in hand. His vital statistics for 2013 are below, he was another Frenchman to make a deep run in the WSOP Main Event.
Cashed for $ 621,902 in 2013, lifetime earnings of $1,299,471
Three Biggest Scores in 2013 (total cashes = 12)
1) WSOP $10,000 World Championship - No Limit Hold'em – 27th, $285,408
2) PartyPoker WPT Barcelona - € 3,200 + 300 No Limit Hold'em - Main Event – 2nd, €126,000
3) WPT Prague € 3,200 + 300 No Limit Hold'em - Main Event - € 104,000
POY UK: Stephen Chidwick: GPI 300 Rank = #32
Then Stephen Chidwick was invited up to get his award he got a little ribbing from 'Stapes' but said: "I'm very happy to be taking this award home as I've beaten some tough competition." For Chidwick it was a case of so near but yet so far from a major title in 2013. He made numerous deep runs in tough events without quite getting over the line. Knowing how competitive he is you sense he might just put that right in 2014.
Cashed for $1,183,748 in 2013, lifetime earnings of $ 2,211,910
Three Biggest Scores in 2013 (total cashes = 15)
1) EPT/EUREKA - Prague,€ 5,000 + 300 No Limit Hold'em - EPT Main Event – 3rd, € 378,000
2) World Series of Poker $ 25,000 No Limit Hold'em - 6 Handed – 4th, $ 353,780
3) WSOP $ 50,000 The Poker Players Championship – 6th, $ 253,497
Next up was Ireland's Player of the Year, but Dermot Blain is still in a tournament here in Deauville so couldn't collect his award in person. Like Chidwick, the Irishman had a number of deep runs in big events in 2013 but didn't get that elusive 'W'.
POY Ireland: Dermot Blain (for the 2nd year in a row) GPI 300 Rank = #104
Cashed for $ 138,097 in 2013, lifetime earnings of $ 1,448,973
Three Biggest Scores in 2013 (total cashes = 11)
1) EPT Barcelona € 5,000 + 300 No Limit Hold'em - Main Event – 52nd - € 18,200
2) UKIPT Nottingham £ 2,000 + 200 No Limit Hold'em - High Roller – 4th - £ 10,500
3) EPT/UK & Ireland Poker Tour - London £ 1,500 + 100 No Limit Hold'em/Pot Limit Omaha - 8 Handed – 2nd, £11,000
Stay right here, more awards are being handed out as I type.
More Awards
There were four more Player of the Year awards for their respective countries awarded before dinner commenced...
POY Italy: Dario Sammartino GPI 300 Rank #64
The Italian is still in the EPT Deauville Main Event with just 41 players remaining and he also finished third in the FPS High Roller earlier in the weak. He’s clearly going the right way about defending his Player of the Year title.
Cashed for: $ 478,659 in 2013, lifetime earnings of $ 829,623
Three Biggest Scores of 2013 (Total cashes = 18)
1) IPT Sanremo 2, Sanremo € 630 + 70 No Limit Hold'em - Main Event – 2nd, € 95,000
2) EPT/UK & Ireland Poker Tour - London, London £ 1,000 + 100 No Limit Hold'em - UKIPT Main Event – 5th, £ 35,360
3) IPT San Remo, Sanremo € 5,000 + 250 No Limit Hold'em - High Roller – 1st, € 35,000
POY Netherlands: Govert Metaal GPI 300 Rank #62
Govert Metaal is a Dutch legend who loves mixing it in the High Roller events. So not surprise that his two biggest scores of the year came in High Roller events. He’s cashed for $150,000 or more in each of the past four years.
Cashed for $ 403,860 in 2013, lifetime earnings of $ 1,621,891
Three Biggest Scores of 2013 (Total cashes = 12)
1) Playground Poker Fall Classic 2013, Kahnawake, C$ 10,000 + 400 No Limit Hold'em - High Roller – 1st, C$ 184,688
2) Master Classics of Poker 2013, Amsterdam, € 10,000 + 250 No Limit Hold'em - High Roller 2nd –€77,220
3) PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, $ 10,000 + 300 No Limit Hold'em - Main Event – 71st, $27,000
POY Spain: Adrian Mateos Diaz GPI 300 Rank #89
It’s no surprise that Adrian Mateos Diaz is also nominated for the Rookie of the Year as he had an outstanding breakout year in 2013. Without a doubt his victory in the WSOPE Main Event was the highlight, but this 19-year-old has his sights set on bigger prizes. He’s already third on the all-time Spanish money list and wants to overtake Carlos Mortensen. I wouldn’t back against him being back here again next year.
Cashed for $ 1,630,868 in 2013, lifetime earnings of $ 1,695,722
Three Biggest Scores in 2013 (Total cashes = 13)
1) 2013 World Series of Poker - Europe, € 10,000 + 450 No Limit Hold'em - Main Event – 1st, € 1,000,000
2) Estrellas Poker Tour Madrid, Madrid, € 1,000 + 100 No Limit Hold'em - Main Event – 1st, € 103,053
3) £ 5,000 + 200 No Limit Hold'em - Turbo 6 Handed EPT/UK & Ireland Poker Tour - London, London - 3rd, £ 21,280
POY Belgium: Davidi Kitai GPI 300 Rank #97
Another year and another major title for Davidi Kitai. The Belgian, one of only five players to have completed the live poker Triple Crown, won a second WSOP bracelet and upon accepting his award said: “What a surprise thank you very much!”
Cashed for $ 547,686 in 2013, lifetime cashes of $ 3,494,882
Three biggest cashes of 2013 (Total cashes = 12)
1) World Series of Poker 2013, Las Vegas, $ 5,000 Pot Limit Hold'em – 1st, $ 224,560
2) EPT Grand Final, Monte Carlo €25,000 + 500 No Limit Hold'em - High Roller – 12th, € 77,400
3) Belgian Poker Challenge, Namur, €2,750 + 250 No Limit Hold'em - High Roller – 1st, € 39,411
Dinner is Over, Back on with the Awards
Bellies are full and now it's all eyes on the stage once more as Joe Stapleton and Galle Garcia Diaz will shortly announce who's won an award at the 13th European Poker Awards in conjunction with Poker52 Europa and Global Poker Index,
Rookie Of the Year Goes To...
The first award of the second half of the evening is the Rookie of the Year.
Winner: Adrian Mateos Diaz
The Spanish sensation picks up his second award of the evening and his beat some stiff competition to do so. He had an outstanding breakout year in 2013, winning the 2013 WSOPE Main Event. In that event he beat an incredibly tough final table that included Fabrice Soulier, Dominik Nitsche, Benny Spindler, Shannon Shorr and Ravi Raghavan. The 19-year-old also made five other final tables in 2013 and he’s already third on the all-time Spanish money list.
Nominated: Max Altergott (Germany), Matthew Ashton (England), Martin Finger (Germany)
Past winners: Ole Schemion (2012), Andrey Pateychuk (2011), Jake Cody (2010), Antoine Saout (2009), Ivan Demidov (2008), Soren Kongsgaard (2007), Mats Iremark (2006), Patrik Antonius (2005), Jani Sointula (2004), Juha Helppi (2003), Kirill Gerasimov (2002), Alex Kravchenko (2001)
Rob Gardner Memorial Award for the Poker Personality of the year 2013
The “Rob Gardner Memorial Award for the Poker Personality of the Year” award was introduced in memory of the contribution of Rob Gardner to the poker scene. Rob Gardner was best known for being the producer of the first three series of Late Night Poker, the first televised poker show of the modern era. He was the first ever person to successfully pioneer the idea of showing players hole cards by using under-the-table cameras. It was this concept which kick-started televised poker. Rob died at the age of 36 in 2007.
This award is voted for by members of the poker community and the winner this year is Roger Hairabedian.
Past winners: Kara Scott (2012), ElkY (2011) and Tony G (2010),
And the Winner of Tournament Peformance of the Year Is...
Winner: Philipp Gruissem
No surprise in this category as the only trouble in this award was which tournament performance to choose. Thee High Rolling German of the High Rolling Germans, Gruissem cashed for a massive $ 4,605,401 in 2013. That included two seven-figure scores when he won back to back WPT Alpah8 $100,000 events in October and November of this year. He also won the $50,000 WSOP Asia-Pacific High Roller.
Nominated: Barny Boatman (England), Philipp Gruissem (Germany), Roger Hairabedian (France), Marvin Rettenmaier (Germany) and Ole Schemion (Germany).
Past winners: Davidi Kitai (2012), Pius Heinz (2011), James Bord (2010), Jeff Lisandro (2009), Peter Eastgate (2008), Annette Obrestad (2007), Victoria Coren (2006), Rob Hollink (2005), Martin de Knijff (2004), Gus Hansen (2003), Barny Boatman (2002), Simon Trumper (2001)
The Internet Player of the Year Awards Goes To...
Winner: Toby Lewis
When you beat out the guy who cross the $10,000,000 mark in lifetime tournament earnings and the guy who was the biggest winner in online cash games in 2013 you better have some credentials to back it up. Fortunately for Toby '810ofclubs' he does. The EPT Vilamoura winner is no slouch on the virtual felt and showed us that in 2013. In September won Event #6 ($215 NLHE Rebuy, Turbo) in the PokerStars WCOOP, it took him just four and a half hours to beat 2,090 players to the title. He pocketed $189,379.23 as part of a two-way chop.
And just a month earlier he collected $253,000 when he won a Full Tilt Online Poker Series (FTOPS) event.
Nominated: Viktor Blom (Sweden), Niklas Heinecker (Germany), Toby Lewis (England) and Chris Moorman (England).
Past winners: Jens Kyllönen (2012), Ilari Sahamies (2011), Andreas Torbergsen (2010), Patrik Antonius (2009)