Global Poker Awards 2022: Imsirovic Steals the Show

Ali Imsirovic Global Poker Awards 2022

2 minutes

Last Updated: March 27, 2022

The Global Poker Awards ceremony took place last Friday in the PokerGo Studio. The studio, located in the ARIA Resort and Casino, was host to poker players, creators, and media personalities from the poker world.

The ceremony was back after a two years absence due to the pandemic restrictions. 

Drea Renee and Jeff Platt hosted a couple of hundreds of guests.

The first winner of the night was Almedin “Ali” Imsirovic. The high-stakes crusher won both the GPI Poker Player of the Year and PokerGO Tour Player of the Year.

After Ali, the next award went to Veronica Bill. She won the Charitable Initiative Award.

The ceremony saw 18 new winners, such as the best vlogger and the best poker personality, who joined the eight who were previously disclosed by the Global Poker Index.

Familiar Names in the Crowd

The Friday night's ceremony saw a couple of familiar names take the awards for the second time. Ali Imsirovic added the two mentioned awards to his Breakout Player of the Year award that he won three years ago at the 2019 Global Poker Awards.

For the second year in a row, Jamie Kerstetter became the industry favorite Twitter personality after winning the Best Twitter Personality last year as well.

Brad Owen GPA 22

Another two repeat winners were Paul Cambell and Brad Owen. Cambell, ARIA's tournament manager, took the Best Tournament Director award for the second time.

Owen, who won the Poker Personality of the Year in 2019, also added the Best Vlogger award to his resume this year. He also recently expanded his interests, partnering up with Doug Polk and Andrew Neeme as a co-owner of a poker room in Texas.

All Eyes on Ali

Almedin Imsirovic was definitely the winner of the night. Ali began the ceremony by winning the GPI Poker Player of the Year and PokerGO Tour Player of the Year.

While accepting the awards, Imsirovic was more than excited.

It feels surreal. I couldn't even describe the shock and disbelief my 18-year-old self would have.

The 27-year-old also beat some poker powerhouses like Peters, Adamo, and Chidwick in the race for the Players Choice for Toughest Opponent award, which he received when he returned to the podium a little later that evening.

In total, the Bosnian-American won three awards on Friday and showed why he is considered one of the best players on the felt.

Other Notable GPA Winners

The Best Live Reporter award went to PokerNews's reporter Christian Zetzsche. Aside from doing tremendous work all year, he also did an excellent job during the 2021 World Serious of Poker. 

Aside from Zetzsche, PokerNews had another member, Chad Holloway, among the finalists for live reporting.

Three finalists for the Best Media Content were Enrique Malfavon, Hayley Hochstetler, and Danny Maxwell. In the end, PokerGO's Malfavon won the award for his photo of the bubble poker hand in the 2021 WSOP.

Other notable winners were:

  • Adam Friedman for Best Final Table Performance for WSOP Event #36: $10,000 Dealer's Choice 6-Max Championship
  • Nadya Magnus – GPI Female Poker Player of the Year
  • Masato Yokosawa – Fans Choice: Poker Personality
  • Ben “Spraggy” Spragg for Best Streamer

The ceremony also honored late poker players with an In Memoriam segment.

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