The third annual Global Poker Index American Poker Awards, presented by PokerStars and honoring the best and brightest in the industry, are on the books. Ari Engel, Maurice Hawkins and PokerStars Team Pro Jason Mercier were some of the people walking out of the ceremony with freshly won hardware.
Engel claimed Tournament Performance of the Year for his win in the Aussie Millions Main Event, the biggest score by a mile in a long and consistently strong career. Hawkins won Breakout Performance of the Year after banking a career-best $581,000 and crushing the World Series of Poker Circuit for four rings, including three Main Events, in 2016.