Through the Lens: Global Poker Awards Nominees

Through his photos, Drew Amato previews the Global Poker Awards

Having been present for some of the game’s biggest moments of 2018, I figured I’d share some of those moments in anticipation of the Global Poker Awards on PokerGO. Below you’ll find a collection of those images, so tune in tonight to watch it all unfold live at 8:00 pm ET.

Editor’s Note: Drew Amato himself is nominated for his excellent work as well in the category of Media Content of the Year for his picture of Doyle Brunson during his last event at the World Series of Poker and Journalist of the Year.

In the category of Tournament Performance, John Cynn is up for taking down the WSOP Main Event. Every year it seems as if the winner of this category is the winner of the Main, and it’s hard to find an argument against it. The biggest tournament, on the biggest stage, pretty hard to top. This was one of my favorite images captured during his Main Event run, right after winning he jumped into the crowd and grabbed his dad for a hug. Also up for “Performance of the Year” is Justin Bonomo for his win in Super High Roller Bowl IV, Dylan Linde for his WPT Five Diamond win, and Maria Lampropulos for taking down the PCA Main Event. 
While browsing the Breakout Player of the Year category, it’s tough to overlook the year Ali Imsirovic had. Imsirovic cashed for over $3.2 million, including 4 wins, and taking down the Purple Jacket at Poker Masters. He is up against Maria Konnikova, Ping Liu, and Christopher Soyza.
I have to give some love to my fellow Poker Central compadres, Brent Hanks and Remko Rinkema, as they are up, AGAIN, for “Podcast of the Year”. The duo took home the title last year at the American Poker Awards and will be looking to go back-to-back come Friday. They are up against the LFG Podcast, PokerNews Podcast, Chip Race Poker Podcast, and The Fives. 
Remko is not only up for Podcast of the Year but also Journalist of the Year. Remko is up against Sarah Herring from PokerNews, Christian Zetzsche, who is a European poker reporter, and yours truly.
I am also very happy to share that my image above of Doyle Brunson is also up for Media Content of the Year. Doyle announced via Twitter that this particular tournament was going to be his last WSOP event, and naturally, he went on to final table it. I shot this image right after he busted, he gave his infamous TexDolly tip of the cap before exiting the stage. I’m up against some stiff competition, however, as the other nominees include Lance Bradley for his book, “The Pursuit of Poker Success”, Hayley Hintze for her article “Vayo vs PokerStars”, and PokerCentral/PokerGO for their “Super High Roller Club: Nick Schulman ft Ali Nejad”

Watch the Global Poker Awards live on PokerGO on Friday, April 5th at 8:00 pm ET. New to PokerGO, subscribe right now.