The Global Poker Index (GPI) recently announced the launch of its first ever Global Poker Awards which would combine the European Poker Awards and American Poker Awards which were being held individually by the GPI.
The GPI announced its list of nominees earlier this week and it has caused a bit of controversy as the poker community are not very happy with some of the nominees, especially when it comes to the categories for “Streamer of the Year” and “vlogger of the Year”.
Doug Polk Undeserving?
Fans have been having a heated discussion on social media about the inclusion of some of the nominees. Case in point is the nomination of Doug Polk as the “Vlogger of the Year”. This was quite surprising as it has been pointed out that Polk has technically not vlogged anything since 2017. His last vlog was during the 2017 World Series of Poker (WSOP).
It doesn’t help that Polk has technically retired from the game. This was after he completed his $100 to $10,000 bankroll challenge. Nowadays, Polk still uploads a few times on his Upswing Poker training site. However, his YouTube content leaves much to be desired. During 2018, Polk only uploaded a couple of videos a month. To make matters worse, Polk agrees with the criticism saying that the awards are a joke and he should never have been nominated.
What has caused the stir with the online poker community is the exclusion of a deserving vlogger. Brad Owen is currently one of the most popular poker streamers on YouTube with more than 95,000 subscribers. Owen took to Twitter to express his disappointment in not being nominated.
The other nominees for vlogger of the year include Joe Ingram, Daniel Negreanu, Andrew Neeme, and Marle Cordeiro.
Jason Somerville Controversy
Jason Somerville is one of the nominees for the “Stream of the Year” award. While Somerville is a big name in the poker live streaming world, it does not make sense for him to be a nominee. This is because the Global Poker Awards are for performances in 2018. Many have pointed out that Somerville was not an active streamer for 2018.
Apart from Somerville, some of the other nominees for this category include Jaime Staples, Jeff Gross, and Lex Veldhuis. There is a notable lack of 2018’s popular streamers in the list including Parker “tonkaaaap” Talbot and a few others.
While the noise on social media continues to get louder, some of it is understandable. Just like any award show, fans will not be happy if their favorite is left out. With all of the prominent streamers and vloggers out there, not everyone can make the cut.
The 2019 Global Poker Awards will be streamed on the PokerGo App on April 5.
