Trickett tops EPAs

Sam Trickett added another accolade to his already bulging trophy cabinet this week when the UK’s all-time money winner was crowned Player of the Year at the 11th Annual European Poker Awards.

Trickett was poker in 2011, banking a head-scratching $4.5m thanks to big-money wins Down Under and the Partouche Poker Tour main event. The Retford hotshot has gone from rags to riches in the past few years, cementing himself as one of the world’s best players. And now he has the trophy to prove it.

But Trickett wasn’t the only notable winner at this year’s EPAs. French tournament crusher Bertrand ‘ElkY’ Grospellier waltzed off with Poker Personality of the Year, while last year’s Main Event champ Pius Heinz understandably banked Best Tournament Performance.

Elsewhere, Andrey Pateychuk was named Rookie of the Year after winning two legs of poker’s illusive Triple Crown, Illari ‘ziigmund’ Sahamies pulled in Online Player of the Year and PokerPlayer favourite Jesse May took down the Lifetime Achievement Award.

With 2012 already off to a bang for Team UK thanks to early victories for James Akenhead and Toby Lewis, don’t be surprised if Trickett isn’t joined in the record books by another from these shores when the EPAs roll around next year.