Imsirovic Wins a Trio of Global Poker Awards

The latest Global Poker Awards took place on February 18 at the PokerGO Studio in Las Vegas, Nevada. It was the third such Global Poker Awards and the first after a two-year hiatus that the COVID-19 pandemic caused. Drea Renee and Jeff Platt hosted the ceremony that saw Ali Imsirovic pick up a trio of awards.

Imsirovic enjoyed a ridiculously good 2021, one where he accumulated $6,094,964 in live tournament winnings. The Bosnian-American won more than a dozen high-stakes events, mostly on the PokerGO Tour. He collected the PokerGO Tour Player of the Year and the GPI Player of the Year titles.

In addition to that pair of Global Poker Awards, Imsirovic’s peers voted him the toughest opponent to play against. Beating the likes of Michael Addamo, Stephen Chidwick, and David Peters is no mean feat. Imsirovic joked he only won this award because Addamo could not make it to Las Vegas.

Russian-born Florida resident Nadya Magnus walked away with the GPI Female Poker Player of the Year gong. Magnus won $426,161 across 22 cash in 2021. Those cashes saw Magnus pick up 1,901.03 POY points, which held off Kyna England (1,751.25) and Katie Lindsay (1,648.60).

Who Else Won at the Global Poker Awards?

There are Global Poker Awards for dozens of categories, including the best mid-major player. Only tournaments with buy-ins of $2,500 or less are eligible for this category. David Mzareulov of Azerbaijan scooped this award after accumulating 2,361.21 points, edging him in frony of American Logan Hewitt (2,327.65) and Italy’s Michael Rossitto (2,313.97).

Mzareulov lives in Katy, Texas, and it is from this base that he enjoyed a breakout year in mid-stakes live events. He helped himself to $524,026 in cashes, including a $205,000 score. He collected that prize for a runner-up finish in a $1,125 buy-in event at Round Rock, Texas. Mzareulov almost won a WSOP Circuit ring, too. However, he ultimately finished sixth in the $1,700 WSOPC North Carolina Main Event in December 2021.

The Global Poker Awards for best final table performance was fiercely contested. Any of the four shortlisted players would have made a worthy winner. Koray Aldemir’s WSOP Main Event victory, Daniel Cates’ $50,000 Poker Player’s Championship win, and Jeremy Ausmus’ victory in the $50,000 Pot-Limit Omaha High Roller were shortlisted. However, Adam Friedman collected the trophy for his $10,000 Dealer’s Choice 6-Max Championship victory. It was the third consecutive year Friedman won that event, denying Phil Hellmuth his 17th WSOP bracelet this time around.

Johan Guilbert won the award for the GPI Breakout Player. Again, any of the shortlisted players were deserving of the title. Guilbert bested Chris Brewer, Kyna England, and Vanessa Kade.

Poker Industry People Recognized

The Global Poker Awards do not only celebrate players but industry people too. PokerNews’ roving reporter, Christian Zetzsche, won the Best Live Reporter category. Some say the award for Zetzsche is overdue as he travels the world non-stop yet the standard of is work never wanes.

Tournament director Matt Savage won the Best Industry Person at the Global Poker Awards ceremony. Savage beat Mori Eskandani, Jack Effel, and Tony Burns. His choice raised more than a few eyebrows, including his own. This is because Savage works on the World Poker Tour which hardly hosted any events in 2021. However, Effel is in charge at the WSOP who hosted a hugely successful 2021 WSOP in the Fall.

Other awards included Jeff Platt winning the Best Broadcaster category, James Hartigan and Joe Stapleton’s “Poker in the Ears” winning Best Podcast, and Jamie Kerstetter crowned the Best Twitter Personality.

There was a special Services to Poker award for Kevin Mathers. The man known as “Kevmath” has a vast knowledge of the poker world and always has an ear to the ground, seemingly, 24 hours per day. Mathers recently joined the GPI and Hendon Mob as the Poker Information Manager.

Brad Johnson

You name the game, and you can bet your bottom dollar that Brad has either played it or placed a wager on it! Brad calls himself a natural gambler, and someone who gains as much enjoyment from writing about the crazy game of poker as he does playing it.

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