LAS VEGAS — With the return of the Global Poker Awards on Friday, 26 awards were handed out inside the PokerGO Studio at the Aria Resort and Casino, but there inevitably were differences of opinion.
Here’s my list of the top five biggest snubs of the night with an honorable mention to two-time defending Poker Streamer of the Year Lex Veldhuis, who had his run snapped by Benjamin Spragg.
5. Vanessa Kade - Breakout Player of the Year Nominee
Look, first things first, no disrespect to winner Johan Guilbert, but when you fold ace-king suited in the big blind to a single raise from the chip leader with four left in the Super High Roller Bowl Europe, can you really be called a breakout player? The media voted for him to answer the question, yes, but Kade's story needs to be recognized nonetheless.
In roughly a week back in March of 2021, Kade went from having her small residual affiliate account with GGPoker rendered null and void for breach of contract for defending herself against the misogynistic behavior of GG Ambassador Dan Bilzerian to signing on as a team pro for America’s Cardroom, and then going on to win the 15th Anniversary Edition of PokerStars Sunday Million for $1.5 million. If that doesn’t count as a breakout, I don’t know what does, but the next player on the list might have an even better resume for the award.
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4. Kyna England - Breakout Player of the Year Nominee
Including two nominees from the same category might be a bit of a stretch. Still, of the four nominees in the category, only England had a claim to a Player of the Year honor as the Illinois native took home the mid-major Mid-States Poker Tour honor after notching seven cashes during the season and securing the victory with her first MSPT title at the MSPT Minnesota Winter Poker Classic, Shakopee back in November.
That honor on the mid-major tour, coupled with her third-place finish at the WPT Venetian in July, gave her $753,365 in year-end earnings for 2021, which accounted for 96% of her career tournament earnings. A performance like that should have netted her the award.
3. Michael Addamo - Player’s Choice Toughest Opponent
The top 100 players in the 2021 GPI rankings voted on this list. Usually, I give the benefit of the doubt to the players, but when you look at what Addamo did during the latter half of 2021, not only does he have the tournament results to back it up, the winner of the award Ali Imsirovic said it best: “I think I only won this award because Michael Addamo isn’t here.”
The Australia native put on a show for the ages in winning just north of $9.4 million on his way to capturing the Poker Masters Purple Jacket, the Super High Roller Bowl VI title, and two WSOP bracelets in the span of three months from September to November, and he did it by putting his opponents in challenging situations time and again. Just ask Daniel Negreanu about the ace-king hand during Super High Roller Bowl or just go back and look at the chip leads Addamo had at every final table. One high stakes reg said it best when walking out of the studio: Imsirovic is the better player, but Addamo is so creative he just puts you in tougher spots.
2. Wynn Mystery Bounty - Best Event
Maybe having two events nominated in the same category was the Wynn’s downfall, but when you create an event that everyone talks about and adds a unique flair to the poker tournament scene, recognition needs to be shown.
The Wynn turned a traditional bounty tournament into a high-stakes game show with players having the chance to pull prizes ranging from $500-$250,000 after eliminating a player. If you didn’t see the Twitter videos and the excitement this event generated, I highly recommend checking them out.
With that said, any time you can not only put on an event that attracts enough players to double the guaranteed prize pool from $2 million to $4 million and have tournament directors across the country rushing to copy the idea, you’ve done something right.
1. Jack Effel - Industry Person of Year Nominee
The first thing out of winner Matt Savage's mouth was, “I don’t deserve this trophy. Jack Effel, you should have won this award.”
If that doesn’t tell you all you need to know about the biggest snub of this year's awards, I don’t know what does. What Effel and his team at the WSOP did during the middle of a global pandemic to put on a two-month-long, 88-event, globally recognized poker series was just short of impossible.
Just think about the logistics. First, Eiffel and his team had to move the series from its traditional time slot in the middle of summer to the end of the year. Then they had to find dealers to match the demand when traditionally summer gives a wider pool of available talent.
Then, with just over two weeks' notice, they received word that international travel restrictions were coming to an end, and more international players would be able to travel to Las Vegas for the Main Event in early November. What did Effel and his team do? They scrambled and added two main event flights to accommodate the influx of players.
Every obstacle you could have thrown the WSOP’s way last year happened, and they overcame it all to hold a successful event in the middle of a pandemic. That leadership and the passion needed to pull that off can’t be overstated.