GPI Euro Poker Awards In-Depth: Internet Player of the Year

We take a closer look at the nominees for Internet Player of the Year for the upcoming GPI European Poker Awards:

VIKTOR “Isildur1” BLOM 

Age ›› 23
Born ›› Gotheburg, SWE
Resides ›› London, UK
Team ›› FullTilt Poker  |  Twitter ›› @ViktorBlom

GPI# ›› 3280  |  2013 PoY# ›› 3867
GPI Points Scored in 2013: 71.54

PocketFives Worldwide Ranking ›› –
Lifetime Total ›› –  |  Lifetime Cashes ›› –

Viktor Blom (GPI#3280) needs no introduction. One of the biggest names in the history of online poker, the FullTilt Professional enjoyed yet another roller coaster year playing on the virtual felt.

Blom cashed once on the live tournament circuit, earning a Top 50 finish at EPT London in March.

NIKLAS “ragen70” HEINECKER 

Born ›› Hamburg, GER
Resides ›› London, UK
Team ›› Free Agent

GPI# ›› 1640  |  2013 PoY# ›› 704
GPI Points Scored in 2013: 239.39

PocketFives Worldwide Ranking ›› –
Lifetime Total ›› –  |  Lifetime Cashes ›› –

According to HighStakesDB.com, Niklas Heinecker (GPI#1640) was the biggest online winner in 2013, earning $6,190,599 for his efforts. Heinecker started 2013 very quietly and then went on one heck of a heater to close out the year.

Heinecker was also a big winner on the live tournament circuit, winning the GuangDong Asia Millions in Macau, collecting $34,600,000 HKD (4.45M USD) for the big score, by far the biggest of his live tournament career.

TOBY “810ofclubs” LEWIS 

Age ›› 24
Born ›› Hampshire, UK
Resides ›› London, UK
Team ›› IveyPoker  |  Twitter ›› @810ofclubs

GPI# ›› 57  |  2013 PoY# ›› 73
GPI Points Scored in 2013: 623.73

PocketFives Worldwide Ranking ›› 42nd
Lifetime Total ›› $3,702,073  |  Lifetime Cashes ›› 1,789

EPT Champion Toby Lewis (GPI#57) enjoyed one heck of a run in the fall when he FTOPS (Full Tilt Online Poker Series) and WCOOP (PokerStars World Cup of Online Poker) titles within a few weeks time.

Lewis’ season on the live tournament circuit also got off on the right foot when he final tabled the WPT L.A. Poker Classic in February.

CHRIS “moorman1” MOORMAN 

Age ›› 28
Born ›› Basildon, UK
Resides ›› London, UK
Team ›› Free Agent  |  Twitter ›› @Moorman1

GPI# ›› 178  |  2013 PoY# ›› 136
GPI Points Scored in 2013: 511.20

PocketFives Worldwide Ranking ›› 9th
Lifetime Total ›› $10,594,694  |  Lifetime Cashes ›› 6,422

The King of the Online Triple Crown, Chris Moorman (GPI#178) collected seven of them in 2013 alone. Incredibly, that would put him tied for fourth overall based on his 2013 results alone. But Moorman has a total of 19 Triple Crowns, placing him well ahead of Peter Traply (GPI#9525), who has 11 all-time.

Moorman’s live successes in 2013 included a final table participation at EPT London back in March and a fifth place finish in the Ante-Only event at the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas.

KYLLÖNEN WINS 2012 AWARD

Finnish poker pro Jens “Jeans89” Kyllönen (GPI#2766) was the big winner in 2012, wrapping up Internet Player of the Year honours. Kyllönen would finish the 2012 season up $2,492,278 USD according to HighStakesDB.com.

Past winners: Jens Kyllönen (2012), Ilari Sahamies (2011), Andreas Torbergsen (2010), Patrik Antonius (2009)

THE LOWDOWN

It will certainly be interesting to see who gets this trophy. Heinecker was certainly the biggest winner when it comes to cash … but Lewis winning two major titles in a few weeks and Moorman collecting more triple crowns in one year than almost anyone has ever collected in their careers? Oh, did we mention Isildur1? It’s going to be one hell of a tough one to win!

The 13th Global Poker Index European Poker Awards will take place on January 29, 2014 at the “Salle des Ambassadeurs” at the Casino de Deauville as part of the EPT Deauville Festival. The event is presented by PokerStars and Lucien Barriere Hôtels et Casinos.

Winners will be selected for Rookie of the Year, Best Tournament Performance, Poker Industry Person of the Year,Internet Player of the Year and European Event of the Year. Also presented on January 29th will be awards for Live European Player of the Year, the Rob Gardner Memorial Award for Poker Personality of the Year as well as the Lifetime Achievement Award.

Several European 2013 GPI National Players of the Year will also be on hand to receive their awards.

Visit the European Poker Awards website for all the information!