The annual awards ceremony was held again this year at the ARIA Resort & Casino and streamed exclusively on the PokerGO YouTube channel. The best players and poker personalities were gathered in the TV studio and the show was hosted by the presenting duo of Jeff Platt and Drea Renee. Trophies were also presented to the winners by many players and industry representatives.
The winners of the four categories were already known before the gala. The GPI (Global Poker Index) Player and Player of the Year were Bin Weng and Kristen Foxen, for whom it is the fourth time in her career. The GPI Mid-Major Player of the Year title went to Nick Pupillo, and the last known winner was Isaac Haxton with the PGT (PokerGO Tour) Player of the Year title. Some of the special awards were also known in advance.
Interesting awards
Another previously known award was the Hendon Mob Award for Casey Kastle. Kastle is the first player ever to cash in 50 different countries. He currently leads the GPI Lifetime Flaghunter rankings. Player Nadya Magnus was honored for her charity work. It is thanks to her that many players who would otherwise not have been able to get to the big events have been given the opportunity to play in the big tournaments.
While the individual winners took home just one trophy each, the names of two poker giants were repeatedly mentioned. Several awards went to the World Poker Tour series, which earned a trophy in the popular WPT Prime series category, in addition to the Best Industry Personality award for Adam Pliska, and also the Wynn Millions.
The other big name of the night was PokerStars. The award for Best Stream was earned by PokerStars Live, while EPT Chief Tournament Director Toby Stone was the winner in the Best Tournament Director category.
The awards weren't just given to players, but also to companies and poker content or moments. Among them was the previously announced GPI Order of Merit award for the outstanding reality show Game of Gold, which was a huge viewer success last year. The award also went to the best hand of the year - the craziest pre-flop action at the Triton Poker Series.
Tribute to a Legend
PokerGo President Mori Eskandani accepted the trophy on behalf of poker legend Doyle Brunson, who left the poker world last year at the age of 89. During this solemn moment, attendees and online viewers were able to watch a video of Brunson talking about the importance of poker in his life. Doyle Brunson was posthumously honored with the GPA Poker Icon Award.
A list of all the winners of the 5th Annual Global Poker Awards:
| Category | Winner |
| GPI Poker Player of the Year | Bin Weng |
| GPI Female Player of the Year | Kristen Foxen |
| GPI Mid-Major Player of the Year | Nick Pupillo |
| PGT Player of the Year | Isaac Haxton |
| GPI Breakout Player | Jan Arends |
| Best Final Table Performance | Daniel Sepiol - WPT World Championship at Wynn Las Vegas |
| The Hendon Mob Award | Casey Kastle |
| Poker ICON | Doyle Brunson |
| Players' Choice for Toughest Opponent | Stephen Chidwick |
| Best X/Twitter Personality | Marle Spragg |
| Charity/Community Initiative | Nadya Magnus |
| Best Streamer | Bert Stevens |
| Best Vlogger | Jaman Burton |
| Best Short-Form Content Creator | Caitlin Comeskey |
| Best Industry Person | Adam Pliska - WPT |
| Best Tournament Director | Toby Stone |
| Best Event | WSOP Main Event |
| Best Stand-Alone Festival/Series | Wynn Millions |
| Best Mid-Major Tour/Circuit | WPT Prime |
| Best Broadcaster | Ali Nejad |
| Best Podcast | The Chip Race |
| Best Media Content: Written | David Hill - The Tales of Billy Baxter: The Final Days of Stu Ungar |
| Best Media Content: Video | PokerGO - Doyle Brunson Celebration of Life |
| Best Media Content: Photo | Rachel Winter |
| Fans Choice: Poker Personality | Greg "Greg Goes All-In" Liow |
| Fans Choice: Best Hand | Craziest Pre-Flop Action of ALL-TIME at Triton Poker Series London |
| Fans Choice: Best Trophy | Asian Poker Tour Taipei Lion Trophy |
| Fans Choice: Best Livestream Production | PokerStars Live |
| GPI Award of Merit | Game of Gold - GGPoker |
Source - PGT, Poker.org, YouTube
