Stephen Song and Cherish Andrews will always remember the past December as they won the Global Poker Index (GPI) Player of the Year titles. Andrews beat Angela Jordison to become the Female Player of the Year and Song won a 10-player race to win the overall GPI Player of the Year.
The poker pro defeated narrowly defeated Jordison to win the Mid-Major Player of the Year title that recognizes achievements in tournaments with up to $2,500 buy-ins.
Andrews, Jordison, and Song had a successful 2022. Some popular players narrowly missed bagging major awards like Kristen Foxen (three-time PGI Female Player of the Year winner) and Alex Foxen (two-time PGI Player of the Year champion and Foxen's husband).
The GPI shows that Andrews and Songs will receive their awards at PokerGO ARIA, Las Vegas studio in the Global Poker Awards ceremony that PokerGO will air exclusively. The poker operator is expected to officially declare the date for the awards ceremony next week.
Andrews' Victory
Jordison and Andrews were the leading contenders for the Female Player of the Year award early last December. The former had a significant lead of 2,483 points. Still, Christina Gollins had 2,110 points and almost caught up with them.
She had to win the Wynn Resorts, Las Vegas World Poker Tour (WPT) World Championship series. Jordison defeated Andrews by 250 points and cashed in three events such as a fifth-place finish at a Venetian Mid-States Poker Tour (MSPT) tournament that earned her $31,000.
Unfortunately, odds turned against her after Andrews had three great runs in the WPT World Championship. She finished sixth in the $3,000 buy-in event at Wynn and won $78,045 and won $131,912 after winning the $1,100 buy-in tournament at the venue.
Andrews won $259,200, her biggest poker career cash at Wynn in the $10,100 buy-in event. Her total cashes in 2022 were $758,513, twice her 2021 earnings.
The 2022 GPI Female Player of the Year Race Results
- Cherish Andrews-2,835 points
- Angela Jordison-2,612 points
- Kristen Foxen-2,229 points
- Jessica Vierling-2,101 points
- Christina Gollins-2,056 points
Song's Double Victories
Many poker fans didn't expect Song would be a top contender for the GPI Player of the Year trophy. Yet, he led the title's standings on December 31 and also won the GPI Mid-Major Player of the Year award.
His remarkable performance in the WPT Prime Championship at Wynn Resorts last month helped him win the awards. He won $712,650 in the $1,100 buy-in event after defeating 5,429 opponents.
The 2022 GPI Mid-Major Player of the Year Race Results
- Stephen Song-2,580 points
- Angela Jordison-2,539 points
- Julien Alexan Sitbon-2,415 points
- Jared Ingles-2,399 points
- Donovan Dean-2,317 points
The Hendon Mob reports that Song earned $2,289,059 in live poker events last year thus increasing his total career earnings to more than $5 million. He has won 44 live poker tournaments in the country.
Even so, Song defeated Adam Hendrix, Chad Eveslage, and Jeremy Ausmus to bag the Mid-Major POY award. He amassed 3,543 total points beating Hendrix by 17 points. Stephen Chidwick held the 10th position with 3,323, 220 points behind Song.
The 2022 GPI Player of the Year Race Results
- Stephen Song-3,543 points
- Adam Hendrix-3,526 points
- Jeremy Ausmus-3,497 points
- Chad Eveslage-3,474 points
- Farid Jattin-3,466 points