Global Poker Index (GPI), one of the leading ranking systems in the world that rates poker players from all over the world. The GPI has promoted its brand by hosting a number of prominent poker events over the years, one of which is the American Poker Awards (APA).

The company recently announced that it plans to launch the third edition of the GPI American Poker Awards on February 23. The awards will once again take place in Beverly Hills, California and some of the top poker players and key executives in the industry are expected to attend the event. The GPI also announced that PokerStars, the biggest online poker website in the world has signed on as the new sponsor for the APA.

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The APA will focus on recognizing and rewarding some of the outstanding players, performances, tournaments and poker operators in 2016. The GPI is also introducing a number of new awards such as Mid-Major Circuit of the Year; Podcast of the Year, Twitch streamer of the year; tournament of the year and a PocketFives sponsored special presentation called the PocketFives Legacy Award which the GPI says will be awarded to “an online legend who has made significant contributions on the live tournament circuit”.

The nomination process will be similar to previous years were a select group of members have the opportunity to send in their nominations before January 31. There are around 50 members who have been chosen to send in their nominations and at the end the top four nominations in each category will be shortlisted. A jury made up of seven experts from the poker industry will be chosen to decide the award winners on February 23.

Some of the other awards that will be given away on February 23 include Breakout Performance of the Year; Lifetime Achievement Award;  GPI Female Player of the Year; Charitable Initiative of the Year; Media Content of the Year; The Hendon Mob Award and the GPI Player of the Year.

The Hendon Mob award will be given to the player who has recorded the highest number of results in 2016. The GPI female player of the year will be awarded to Cate Hall and the GPI player of the year will be awarded to David Peters as both of them finished the year on top of the GPI rankings.