After more than two decades, the Global Poker Awards are ending.

Eric Davis, the president of Global Poker Index, sent poker media the bad news via email today:

“It’s with mixed emotions that we announce the end of the Global Poker Awards. The Awards have been my baby for over 10 years now, but it’s time to move on. I’ve attached the press release for your review. A BIG thank you to all who have supported our project throughout the years.”

It’s been in Davis’ hands the last 10 years, but a form of the awards has been going on since 2001 in Europe. As the award ceremony grew, it moved first to Los Angeles in 2014, and became the poker party of the year in 2019, when it moved to Las Vegas.

It was in Las Vegas that the awards turned into the glamorous, made-for-streaming event that players looked forward to every year.

GPI will still still continue to hand out trophies for players who end up on top of its leaderboards, but it’s other categories — like blogger of the year, best poker poker writing, comeback player, best event, best poker trophy, etc. — will go the way of the dodo bird.

Here’s the press release in full:

Following multiple years in Europe and a magical decade-long run in America, the Global Poker Awards will not return in 2026. There are several reasons why the Awards won’t be returning, most notably the amount of time it takes to prepare and produce the event.

“We’re a very small team and the awards process as a whole takes two members of our team out of the day-to-day operations for two months every year,” explains Eric Danis, President of the Global Poker Index and The Hendon Mob Poker Database. “If you had told a younger me that I’d be part of a team organizing awards ceremonies in France, Monte Carlo, Malta, the Sunset Strip just blocks away from The Viper Room and Whisky a Go Go, and finally Las Vegas, I wouldn’t have believed you. We’re certainly going to miss putting on a great show, but we have other projects that have taken priority over the awards.”

We would like to thank everyone who has supported the GPI Poker Awards over the years, including the talented individuals who have hosted the ceremonies. These include the incredible Kara Scott, Joe Stapleton, Ali Nejad, Maria Ho, Lynn Gilmartin, Drea Renee, and the greatest showman, Jeff Platt.

The GPI/THM team will continue to reward the winners of our various races, including the GPI Player of the Year and The Hendon Mob Award. These winners will receive GPI/THM trophies to acknowledge their extraordinary accomplishments.”