Vicky Coren Mitchell and Martin Jacobson Among Nominees For GPI European Poker Awards
Now that the first edition of the American Poker Awards is in the the books, it's time for the Global Poker Index (GPI) to head back to Europe to celebrate the best names in the industry with the 14th edition of the European Poker Awards (EPA).
To be held at the luxurious Hilton Hotel in St. Julian's, Malta on March 25, the annual event organized by the GPI aims to replicate the extraordinary success of its newly launched American leg by combining a poker conference with a glamorous awards ceremony.
Running alongside the first-ever European Poker Tour festival in the nearby Portomaso Casino, the 2015 edition of the European Poker Awards is the first one in the awards' history not to take place in France.
"This is the first time that the European Poker Awards will be held outside its original nest, France," CEO of the GPI Alex Dreyfus told PokerNews. "We had great success last year during the EPT Deauville, and going to Malta during the EPT will definitively make it easier for the players and the entry figures based on the island to attend."
"The event will have a similar setup to the American Poker Awards," Dreyfus continued. Similarly to its American leg, "The event is sponsored by Pokerstars and Roger Dubuis - and we are already working on some great surprises," Dreyfus promised.
European Poker Awards: All the Nominees
The upcoming edition of the European Poker Awards is going to recognize 13 of the the players, industry figures, and the events which contributed the most to the growth of the game and the develop of the poker industry during 2014.
Here's the full list of all the nominees up for an award at the 2015 edition of the European Poker Awards:
GPI Player of the Year
- Ole Schemion
GPI Female Player of the Year
- Liv Boeree
Breakout Player of the Year
- George Danzer
- Dominik Panka
- Oliver Price
- Jack Salter
Tournament Performance of the Year
- Victoria Coren Mitchell, EPT Sanremo
- Martin Jacobson, WSOP Main Event
- Davidi Kitai, WSOP Event #15
- Dominik Panka, PCA
Event of the Year (buy-in up to €2,000)
- Battle of Malta
- Estrellas Poker Tour Barcelona
- Eureka Poker Tour Prague
- WPT500 at Dusk Till Dawn
Event of the Year (buy-in €2,000+)
- EPT Barcelona Main Event
- EPT Prague Main Event
- EPT Vienna Main Event
- Master Classics of Poker Amsterdam
Poker Innovation or Initiative of the Year
- Expresso, Winamax Poker
- Shark Cage, PokerStars
- Unibet launching its own gaming platform
- WPT500 and expansion to new markets
Charitable Initiative of the Year
- Helping Hands Charity Tournament
- REG charity
- Right to Play, Quintessentially Foundation in partnership with PokerStars
- WPT UK Charity Raffle
Industry Person of the Year
- Hermance Blum, General Manager WPT Europe
- Edgar Stuchly, EPT President
- Leon Tsoukernik, King's Casino
- Rob Young, Dusk Till Dawn owner
Media Person of the Year
- Giovanni Angioni
- Marc Convey
- Lee Davy
- Remko Rinkema
Media Content of the Year
- EPT Live commentary
- Nosebleed, Victor Saumont
- Neil Stoddart's pictures
- Remko Rinkema's videos
Poker's Best Ambassador
To be announced on Mar. 25
Lifetime Achievement
To be announced on Mar. 25
How does the voting work?
During the past few months, a nomination panel comprised of over 60 key figures in the industry were requested to cast their votes for each category included in the awards, excluding the GPI Player of the Year the Female GPI Player of the Year, and the Jury Award for Lifetime Achievement in Poker.
On March 25, a specially appointed jury will determine the winners in each of the respective category based on the nomination panel's shortlist. The jury members will not know who the others members are before the meeting will take place. According to the organizers of the event, "this is important for the legitimacy and the integrity of the awards." A similar procedure was used also during the American Poker Awards.
Poker's best ambassador is a people's choice award. Votes for this award are currently open at http://europeanpokerawards.com/peopleschoice/
Do Not Miss the European Poker Conference
"We are very conservative with our expectations because we put so much efforts on the American Poker Awards and the Global Poker Masters," Dreyfus went on to explain about the awards ceremony. According to the French businessman, the event could gather approximately "100 to 150 people."
To those who are interested in the development of the industry and not only on the glamorous side of the awards, the GPI is offering also a good chance to get an insight on what's to come in the poker world with a new edition of the European Poker Conference.
After a quick introduction scheduled for 2 p.m. that will be held by Dreyfus himself, the conference will develop around two sessions titled Live Poker in Europe: Current climate and future innovations, Online Poker Snapshot: The state of online Poker in Europe, followed by a panel discussion that will focus on the role and the expectations of poker players.
Entrance to both the European Poker Awards and the European Poker Conference is free - but limited. To get your chance to participate to the conference, the ceremony or both, visit: www.europeanpokerawards.com/register
Get all the latest PokerNews updates on your social media outlets. Follow us on Twitter and find us on both Facebook and Google+!
