The Global Poker Awards, perhaps the most popular awards ceremony involving the poker world, will make its escape from pandemic-related mothballs in the coming months. According to parent entity GPI/THM (Global Poker Index / The Hendon Mob), the awards will be held in 2022 after a year's COVID-19-related hiatus.
The 2022 Global Poker Awards will be held on February 18, 2022 at the PokerGO Studio at ARIA Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. PokerGO will again serve as the Global Poker Awards' broadcast partner, with the ceremony to be livestreamed on PokerGO. Exact details on the ceremony's scheduled time and length have yet to be released. The PokerGO Studio will host the Global Poker Awards annually through at least 2024. The awards debuted in 2018, making the upcoming 2022 GPA the fourth edition of the ceremony.
According to GPI/THM, the 2022 edition of the Global Poker Awards will again include more than 20 awards. The GPA honors excellence throughout the poker world, on both the player and industry sides. Four of the 2022 categories have already been announced: the 2021 GPI Player of the Year; Player’s Choice for Toughest Opponent; Poker ICON, and Best Vlogger. Poker fans will also be able to vote on three separate "Fan Choice" awards. Voting is expected to be done online through the GPA's home at https://www.globalpokerindex.com/awards/. Further information about the fan voting and categories will be released in the coming weeks.
Live-poker shutdown forced 2021 awards cancellation
It's a welcome return to the limelight for the Global Poker Awards, which are a unique element of Mediarex Entertainment's poker results-family of sites, including the Global Poker Index rankings, The Hendon Mob results database, and several other entities. The last GPA was held in 2020 just as the initial COVID-19 outbreak began gathering steam. With most of live poker events cancelled through 2020 and into 2021, the GPI rankings for the few remaining events held little meaning. As those GPI-based awards have always been the heart of the GPA, it made little sense to hold the once-planned 2021 ceremony.
2021 was different, of course, with live poker returning around much of the globe, even if under pandemic-related constraints. And that means the Global Poker Awards have returned as well. GPI/THM's president, Eric Danis, said, ""After having to skip last year's ceremony due to the pandemic, we're really happy to finally be able to announce the date of the next Global Poker Awards. We cannot wait for the whole globe to get together to celebrate the top performers in our industry once again!"
The GPA is currently finalizing its voting process for the 2022 awards ceremony. In previous years, the awards have been decided via nominations and final votes from an expansive lineup of industry professionals and notable players. The overall process will be announced early in 2022 and will likely allow roughly two months' time for each category's honoree to be determined.
Featured image source: Global Poker Awards
