The first EPT Awards were announced at the Opium Bar in Barcelona. The ceremony was hosted by PokerStars pro Daniel Negreanu and PokerNews presenter Gloria Balding. The awards were held on the eve of the first EPT event of this season, which takes off in Barcelona.
There were awards in seven categories. Five awards were decided by a panel of judges comprising John Duthie, Lee Jones, Victoria Coren and John Caldwell. Player of the Year was Luca Pagano; Best Overseas Player was Mike “Timex” McDonald; Best Performance went to Julian Thew; Best PokerStars Qualifier was Danny “THE__D__RY” Ryan and Best Newcomer was Trond Erik Eidsvig. The remaining two awards were decided by Internet voting. The Poker Writers Award was voted for by EPT media and won by Julian Thew. The People’s Choice was voted for by the public and won by Mike McDonald. Jason Mercier, Annette Obrestad and Bertrand ‘ElkY’ Grospellier were nominees who missed out. The awards were sponsored by PokerStars.