Defining just exactly what the "spirit of poker" is can be elusive, but one thing's for sure: we know it when we see it.
These are poker players who stand out with joy, heart and originality both on and off the felt.
Newcomers who burst on the stage and take the poker tournament scene by storm. Oldtimers who’ve been around since the early days but still have plenty of game to compete with today's young guns.
Our signature category - the Most Inspiring Player - highlights the players who not only make poker a living but make it so inviting others want to be a part of it too.
Every year at the Battle of Malta PokerListings crowns three players for their outstanding achievements on and off the felt for the past 12 months.
Who they'll be in 2015 is up to you.
Rising Stars, Living Legends
Distributed across three categories - Rising Star, Living Legend and Most Inspiring Player - the 2015 Spirit of Poker Award Nominees are a cross-section of everything that makes the game of poker great.
Eight players have been fastidiously picked by our editorial panel in each category and every single one of them has brought something unique to poker that deserves to be recognized. The official nominees for 2015:
2015 Most Inspiring Player Award
Martin Jacobson Davidi Kitai Leo Margets Aditya Agarwal Dominik Nitsche Anatoly Filatov Jason Somerville Max Pescatori
Rising Star Award
Adrian Mateos Dzmitry Urbanovich Fedor Holz Charlie Carrel Sabina Hiatullah Akira Ohyama Pablo Gordillo Claudico
Living Legend Award
Konstantin Puchkov Dan Heimiller Barry Greenstein James Woods Humberto Brenes Jackie Cachia Padraig Parkinson Erik Seidel
Voting Open Now!
With the nominees officially named it's now up to you, the readers, to determine who makes it to the shortlist of three in each category.
Head to the PokerListings Spirit of Poker Awards Main Page to vote and for an overview of the players' extraordinary achievements over the last year to help make your decision.
Voting is now open and will be until September 13, 2015, at midnight. The PokerListings team will then announce the three players with the most votes in each category.
The editorial panel will then vote on and determine the winners.
Past winners of Spirit of Poker Awards include Shannon Shorr, Dominik Panka, Thor Hansen, Luca Moschitta, Pierre Neuville and Naoya Kihara.
Award Ceremony at Battle of Malta 2015
The awards will be presented during the 2015 Battle of Malta which takes place November 4-9.
The 4th Annual Battle of Malta will be fought again in the Portomaso Casino in St. Julian’s, Malta.
It has grown every year since its inception in 2012 with almost 1,500 players in last year's main event to once again shatter the record for largest poker tournament ever in Malta.
Poker pro, TV presenter and 3-time Last Woman Standing in the WSOP main event, Maria Ho, will also be back to host again.
The 2015 Battle of Malta will be five intense days of poker. The main event will have three opening days to accommodate all players but you will also find side events every day including a 2-day Second Chance and a Pot-Limit Omaha Event.
Don’t forget the parties, either. Check out this video to see what they were like last year.
Go to our BOM payment page to book your VIP package. You can also qualify online for as little as 1c; find available satellites here.
Tell us who you think should get a PokerListings Spirit of Poker Award and vote! And we’d be thrilled to see you at the “Best Low Buy-in Poker Tournament in Europe."
Visit www.pokerlistings.com