POKERSTARS SHINES AT 3RD ANNUAL GPI AMERICAN POKER AWARDS WITH QUADRUPLE WIN
ONCHAN, Isle of Man – February 24, 2017 – The stars were out in force for the 3rd Annual Global Poker Index (GPI) American Poker Awards, which saw Team PokerStars Pros Jason Mercier and Jason Somerville and popular PokerStars TV commentator Joe Stapleton receive awards for a variety of efforts and achievements in 2016.
Team PokerStars Pro Jason Mercier had an incredible year in 2016 featuring an amazing run in Las Vegas with 11 cashes at the World Series of Poker, including two first-place finishes that netted him close to $700,000 and his fourth and fifth World Series of Poker bracelets; ultimately increasing his total live winnings to $17.4 million. Mercier, who began playing poker professionally in 2008, celebrated another double win at the GPI American Poker Awards last night beating off steep competition to awards for the 2016 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Player of the Year and Poker Moment of the Year.
“I’m really happy to have won WSOP Player of The Year and to receive it at the GPI Awards, ” said Mercier. “I wanted to win WSOP Player of the Year from the moment I sat down at my first WSOP event in 2008. I’m extremely happy I was able to see the dream become a reality last year and just hope I’m able to win it again next year!”
After his second award, for Moment of the Year, an elated Mercier added, “It was really cool to win Moment of the Year for 2016. I’m not sure I have ever had or will ever have another week like I experienced during the WSOP last summer. Getting first, second and then first in three consecutive championship events definitely was an amazing feeling. It’s rare to catch such a heater, and I’m just grateful and fortunate that I was able to catch fire like that.”
Another poker hero, Team PokerStars Pro Jason Somerville, came away with the award for Twitch Streamer of the Year. Collecting one of four new awards to be added to the category list this year, Jason Somerville’s win highlights his continued commitment to creating exceptional content for a wide variety of audiences as well as his popularity among poker fans. Somerville’s Run it Up Twitch channel has more than 200,000 Twitch followers.
The awards, sponsored by PokerStars, an Amaya Inc. (NASDAQ: AYA; TSX: AYA) brand, serve to highlight the strength and continuing growth of the American poker industry.
Commenting on the awards, Eric Hollreiser, Vice President of Corporate Communications for PokerStars and Amaya Inc., said: “This is tremendous and very well deserved recognition for Jason Mercier and Jason Somerville and we congratulate them both, we are delighted for their continuing achievements and winning moments. Oh, yeah, and that guy Stapes did pretty good too!”
Joe Stapleton, who is the regular co-commentator on the popular PokerStars live tournaments streams alongside James Hartigan, picked up Media Person of the Year. You can catch his work at PokerStars TV.
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PokerStars operates the world’s most popular online poker sites, serving the global poker community. Since it launched in 2001, PokerStars has become the first choice of players all over the world, with more daily tournaments than anywhere else and with the best online security. More than 165 billion hands have been dealt on PokerStars, which is more than any other site.
PokerStars is the flagship brand of Rational Group, which is ultimately owned by Amaya Inc. (Nasdaq: AYA; TSX: AYA) and operates gaming-related businesses and brands, including PokerStars, PokerStars Casino, BetStars, Full Tilt, StarsDraft, and the PokerStars Championship and PokerStars Festival live poker tour brands (incorporating the European Poker Tour, PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, Latin American Poker Tour and the Asia Pacific Poker Tour). Amaya, through certain subsidiaries, is licensed, approved to offer, or offers under third party licenses or approvals, its products and services in various jurisdictions throughout the world, including in Europe, both within and outside of the European Union, the Americas and elsewhere. In particular, PokerStars is the world’s most licensed online gaming brand, holding licenses or related operating approvals in 17 jurisdictions. PokerStars.com and PokerStars.eu operate globally under licenses from the Isle of Man and Malta governments, respectively.
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