Every year, the world of poker honors the best in the business. GPI American Poker Awards has been scheduled on February 22 in LA. It is going to be held at the stylish Andaz West Hollywood hotel that has gained popularity over the years in the Sunset Strip. Among its prominent sponsors include PokerStars, the world’s largest online poker site.
The American Poker Awards is a big deal for many poker enthusiasts both playing professionally and those who are aspiring to hit the big time. It is considered by many as the Grammy or the Academy Awards for poker minus the millions of viewers. It hands out various winners in different categories.
Alex Dreyfus, the president of the American Poker Awards and Global Poker Index, hasn’t named categories for this year but he promised that there are over a dozen more that are going to be announced.
A Look Back at Last Year’s APA
Last year’s APA took place in Beverly Hills where the entire poker community witnessed David Peters to walk away as the GPI Player of the Year. Also, Maurice Hawkins, won the Breakout Player of the Year while Mori Eskandani was given the Lifetime Achievement Award. There were 15 other winners from the 2017 APA celebrating accomplishments in poker.
Bryn Kenney and Kristen Bicknell
However, it is worth mentioning though that even if the categories aren’t decided yet, there were two big winners for the upcoming APA: Bryn Kenney and Kristen Bicknell.
Both players made an impact from their 2017 performances. Kristen Bicknell was named the GPI Female Player of the Year while the New York-based player Bryn Kenney will be honored as the American Poker Player of the Year. Bicknell is from Canada, but so far, there is no one making any protest regarding the award going to a Canadian.
In 2017, Bicknell was able to cash in seven WSOP events. She also won a $5200 tournament for almost $200,000 at the WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic that was held recently in Las Vegas. On the other hand, you have Bryn Kenney who dominated the poker scene last year. He spent 14 weeks as the number one poker player on the planet based on the GPI World Poker Rankings.
Kenney was able to start the dominant 2017 season with $2 million in cash price and two tournament titles during the 2017 PokerStars Championships that was held in the Bahamas. By April, he was able to bag $2 million for winning a $100,000 Super High Roller at the PokerStars Championship in Monte Carlo.
And he wasn’t even done after Monte Carlo. In fact, he was just getting started. He even had a successful run during the inaugural Poker Masters high-roller series last September. He won a $50,000 event with almost $1 million and cashing in on another. He finished 2017 with big scores and a six-figure cash prize.
Dreyfus also mentioned that there is a possibility that the European Poker Awards are going to return if there are interested sponsors that are willing to support. Now, who else do you think should win some awards for this year’s APA?
