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GPI and THM Reveal 2021 Awards Categories

Written by Jennifer Newell
Last updated on
Jennifer Newell

Just a few weeks ago, the Global Poker Index (GPI) and the Hendon Mob (THM) announced that the 2021 Global Poker Awards will happen. After a year off for the unprecedented pandemic, the rankings restarted in 2021 with the relaunch of live poker. So, to honor those who excelled in 2021, GPI and THM will host the Global Poker Awards on February 18, 2022. As was the case in 2019 and 2020, the ceremony will take place at the PokerGO Studio at Aria on the Las Vegas Strip.

And PokerGO will livestream the festivities.

Since that revelation, there have been more announcements.

Kevmath on Board

It made sense, really, to invite the person with the most knowledge of global poker happenings to work for GPI and THM. And he accepted. Kevin Mathers – known to many in the industry simply as Kevmath – is their new Poker Information Manager.

Sure, Mathers has nearly 40K followers on Twitter, but it’s not so much about the numbers. It’s more about the wealth of knowledge he possesses about current and past poker events and players. He keeps his fingers on the pulse – and the Twitter buttons – of the industry. When someone wants information about anything happening in the game, Kevmath is the first one to ask.

His primary role as Poker Information Manager will be to work with GPI and THM and their partners to release and publicize information about tournaments, events, and results.

GPI/THM President Eric Danis called him one of the most respected sources of information in the poker community. “It means a lot to us to welcome Kev to his new home, and we are excited for what he brings to the table. … He’s one of the hardest working people in poker, and adding him to the team was a no-brainer.”

GPI Players of the Year

Several of the players that the upcoming Global Poker Awards will honor will be the top-ranked poker players of 2021. That is determined by the GPI rankings from the 2021 year, which will officially conclude on the night of January 4, 2022.

GPI will officially announce the Player of the Year category winners on Wednesday, January 5. On that day, they will announce the official overall POY, Female POY, and the first-ever Mid-Major Player of the Year. The latter will rank players in events with buy-ins of $2,500 or less. They will also announce POY winners from various countries, such as Bosnia, France, Lithuania, Russia, Spain, the UK, and the United States. Winners must have accumulated at least 1000 GPI points throughout the year for official recognition.

The winning players will receive awards at the 3rd Global Poker Awards on February 18.

List of 2021 Award Categories

One of the two most recent announcements from GPI and THM was the revelation of the categories to be included in the Global Poker Awards.

Of course, the three global POY awards mentioned above will be a part of the lineup. There will be 23 other trophies presented as well, making for a total of 26 categories. Most are recurring categories, but a few – like Best Live Tournament Reporter – will debut this year.

The full list of categories is:

2021 Awards
GPI Poker Player of the Year
GPI Female POY
GPI Mid-Major POY
PokerGO Tour Player of the Year
GPI Breakout Player
Best Final Table Performance
Best Event
Best Twitter Personality
Best Industry Person
Best Tournament Director
Best Streamer
Best Vlogger
Best Podcast
Best Broadcaster
Best Live Tournament Reporter
Best Media Content: Photo
Best Media Content: Written
Best Media Content: Video
Players Choice: Toughest Opponent
People’s Choice: Poker Personality
Fan Choice: Best Hand
Fan Choice: Best Trophy
Poker ICON
GPI Award of Merit
THM Achievement Award
Best Charitable Initiative

Voting Details Revealed

To be completely transparent, GPI and THM revealed the voting processes for the 2021 awards. Some, like the People’s Choice and Fan Choice awards seem self-explanatory, but there are methods to determining those finalists as well.

Voting panels will do the most work, as there will be a unique panel for each voting category. GPI will vet the voters and ensure that they remain anonymous until after the awards ceremony. Their votes will always remain confidential unless they reveal that information themselves.

Those voting panels will receive preliminary lists from which to start work on each category. The public can offer input for said lists – in any category – via social media, and panel members may also submit suggestions. Members of the panels will select five candidates from each preliminary ballot. (They cannot vote for themselves and can only use two votes for candidates with whom they work.)

Candidates who receive a certain number of votes will move to the final ballot. GPI will determine that certain number for each category by calculating the total number of ballots submitted divided by five. Names receiving that number or more will move to the final ballot. (There should be eight names on each final ballot.) Panel members will then rank their top three picks – first, second, and third – in each category. First-place votes will receive five points, second-place three points, and third-place one point. GPI will tally the final votes, reveal the top four in each category to the public sometime in January, and reveal the winners at the Global Poker Awards.

Fan/People Choice awards will use voting panels to determine the finalists, at which point public voting will determine the winners. The Best Poker Personality award, however, will start with the public completing online submissions, with the top four candidates then going to the second round of voting.

The Breakout Player award will determine its preliminary list via a list of top-ranking players in the GPI POY list who had never finished in the top 500 in the past.

As for the Poker ICON, GPI Award of Merit, THM Achievement Award, and Charitable Initiative award, the GPI and THM teams will determine those winners.

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