Global Poker Awards Return With Player-First Format at WSOP Paradise
The seventh ceremony moves to Baha Mar on Dec. 4, while fan voting for Most Entertaining Player closes Nov. 3.
- The seventh ceremony is set for Dec. 4 during the opening days of WSOP Paradise at Baha Mar.
- The category lineup drops several industry honors and adds player-focused awards including Best Villain and Best Table Mate.
- Fan voting for Fans’ Choice: Most Entertaining Player is open through Nov. 3.
- The ceremony follows the reversal of a 2025 decision to cancel the awards for 2026 because of the workload involved.
The Global Poker Awards will return on Dec. 4 at Baha Mar in The Bahamas, with the seventh ceremony taking place during the opening days of WSOP Paradise. The event had previously been ruled out for 2026, but Global Poker Index and The Hendon Mob have now restored it with a lineup that puts more emphasis on players and poker personalities.
The revised awards are less centered on the wider poker industry than earlier editions. Best Podcast, Best Poker Book, Best Industry Person and Best Media Content have been dropped from the announced categories, while Best Live Streamer and Best Vlogger remain among the awards for creators.
New player-facing honors include Best Villain, Best Table Mate and multiple Most Feared Player categories. Organizers said the change reflects performances on the international circuit and is intended to recognize people whose results and accomplishments have made an impact over the past 12 months.
Fans can already vote in Fans’ Choice: Most Entertaining Player. Ballots close Nov. 3, a month before the ceremony.
The awards were originally canceled in November 2025 because of the time needed to prepare and produce them. Eric Danis said the process took two members of the organizers’ small team away from their regular work for two months each year.
Placing the ceremony alongside WSOP Paradise is intended to give organizers access to a larger concentration of elite players and improve attendance. Sources cited on Daniel Negreanu’s Mania Podcast said player attendance was a problem at the sixth awards.
This will also be the awards’ first ceremony away from Las Vegas since they settled at PokerGO Studio at ARIA in 2019. The first event was held in Europe in 2001 before moving to Los Angeles in 2014; the sixth ceremony took place in Las Vegas in February 2025 and presented 38 awards.
Baha Mar is also a new home for WSOP Paradise, which is moving from Atlantis Paradise Island for its 2026 edition. The festival runs Dec. 1-18, placing the awards near the start of the series.
