If you live in the UK then January is all about freezing your tits off, shriveled gonads, turkey curry, debt and a whole host of awards ceremonies as the world celebrates the success stories of 2013.
As a sport, game, call it what you will…poker loves throwing a party and what better way to celebrate the year end than at an awards ceremony. Awards and poker go together like jelly and blancmange, so let’s take a look at some of the awards that made the poker world wobble in 2013.
World Series of Poker Player of the Year
2013 was a special year in the history of the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Player of the Year (POY) race as Daniel Negreanu became the first player to win it twice.
It wasn’t just the record breaking achievement that made it so special, but it was the way that Negreanu actually won it, when he took down the World Series of Poker Europe (WSOPE) High Roller right at the death.
Expect to see Negreanu taking home a whole host of 2013 Player of the Year awards as a result of this considerable achievement.
Global Poker Index (GPI) European Poker Awards
It’s the second time that the GPI have sponsored the European Poker Awards, but it’s the first time that will see PokerStars and the European Poker Tour (EPT) also get in on the action.
The awards ceremony will be held during the festivities of EPT Deauville and it’s more like poker’s Oscars than any other awards ceremony.
Awards will be dished out for Best Tournament Performance of the Year, Rookie of the Year, Europe’s Leading Lady, Internet Player of the Year, Poker Personality of the Year, Best European Event of the Year, Live European Player of the Year, Lifetime Achievement Award and Poker Industry Person of the Year.
I prefer my awards ceremonies to be a little less crammed than this, and I also worry about the legitimacy of poker awards ceremonies that are sponsored by entities that are also being nominated for awards.
If it were down to me I would limit it to Player of the Year, Rookie of the Year, Poker Industry Person of the Year and Lifetime Achievement Award. Short, sweet and absolutely nothing to do with the fact that I have been nominated for one of these awards.
PokerListings “Spirit of Poker” Awards
PokerListings held their awards ceremony during the 2013 Battle of Malta and I like the way they tried to do something a little different. They left the bog standard player of the year type awards to the rest and instead focused on ‘inspiration’, ‘old age’ and ‘the future’.
The first-ever WSOP bracelet winner from Japan, and PokerStars Team Online member, Naoya Kihara winning the most inspiring player awards; Belgium’s Pierre Neuville taking the honors for the over 50’s, and Italy’s Luca Moschitta earning the award for the future of poker.
The British Poker Awards
The nominations for the British Poker Awards sponsored by BLUFF Europe, were unveiled back in September, but we are not likely to learn who the winners are until early March.
The delay is purely a logistical one as the organizers try to find the best time to capture as many poker players in London as possible. I have been helping out behind the scenes on this one, and in hindsight should have spoken up about the number of awards that are going to be given out.
There are 13 awards ranging from Player of the Year to best Poker Software and I think that’s too much.
PokerPlayer Awards
The 2013 PokerPlayer awards are already done and dusted, and I agree with some and disagree with others.
Chris Moorman picked up the award for UK Player of the Year when I believe it should have gone to Matt Ashton. In fact, Ashton wasn’t even in the top three of Sam Trickett (2nd) and Kevin Allen (3rd).
I really liked the fact that the International Stadiums Poker Tour (ISPT) event won the UK Moment of the Year award. The event had its critics, but when they got down to business it was one of the most amazing spectacles you will ever see in a poker tournament. Hands down the event of the year for me, if only for the fact that nobody had ever before tried anything this grandiose.
The Player of the Year went to Niklas Heinecker and I am on the fence with this one. I guess this is why most organizations prefer to separate live from online play when they dish out their awards? I would have handed the gong to Negreanu on this one.
PokerPlayer even had an award for best video, and it went to the online poker documentary BetRaiseFold. Such a shame that ‘Dan’ by SrslySirius hadn’t been made by the time the awards were given out as it would have won it hands down.
