Back For More British Poker Awards

The British Poker Awards is gearing up for its second annual ceremony this September, and the ballots are out. Categories for this year’s awards include the obvious Player of the Year, as well as awards for Best Cash Player, Best Social Media User, and Best Blogger — where the PokerStars Blog’s own Stephen Bartley is up for the win in a brand new category. There’s also an award for Poker Personality of the Year, where the names of Kara Scott, Team PokerStars Pro Liv Boeree, and Vicky Coren make the ladies a 3:2 favorite over the boys (Roland de Wolfe and Luke Schwartz).

New PokerStars Champs Crowned On Three Continents

The first summer events (or winter, if you’re upside-down) have finished up on the APPT, the EPT, and the LAPT. It’s been a season of firsts, thus far.

Let’s start Down Under, where it is indeed winter. There’s nothing cold about Melbourne, and the friendly city welcomed the APPT to town for the first time. A total of 260 players showed up for the AUD$5,000 Main Event, and it’s already apparent that the tour fits the Crown Casino like a well-worn glove. Leo Boxell knows his way around the poker room quite well there, and “The Mechanic” bested the assembled field, claiming the AUD$330,000 top prize and reminding the Australian poker world of his Hall of Fame credentials. He’s moved into 11th place on the country’s all-time money list.

In Europe, Estonia welcomed a similar field of 282 players for its Main Event, kicking off the eighth season of the continent’s leading poker tour. EPT Tallinn played down to a champion on Sunday, and it was Switzerland’s Ronny Kaiser taking the trophy and €275,000 for the win. He’s the first EPT champion from Switzerland, and he made quite a mark as he stormed through the field with the chip lead for the final three days. For you serious EPT trivia buffs, Grezegorz Cichocki finished runner-up to Kaiser, becoming Poland’s best-ever EPT finisher.

And we’ll finish up in South America where Punta del Este, Uruguay played host to an LAPT event for the fourth time in the tour’s four seasons. The Season 4 numbers have been stellar thus far, and an impassive 422 players showed up to Punta to smash the previous record for the stop. On Sunday evening — well, afternoon, really — Uruguay’s own Alex Komaromi snagged the last chip in play after a very brisk four-and-a-half-hour final table. It’s another first here, too. Komaromi becomes the first Uruguayan to hoist an LAPT trophy, and he’ll happily pocket the $244,720 that comes with his new title.

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