Two of poker’s finest celebrated victory this week as the Global Poker Index annual awards for Player of the Year, Female Player of the Year and Mid Stakes Player of the Year were announced. Two PokerStake players, Cherish Andrews and David Coleman, finished top of the charts in the overall and female categories and will be honored at the 6th annual Global Poker Awards in the coming weeks.
We caught up with the pair of poker powerhouses to find out how pleased they are to celebrate their latest victories and what they’ll be doing next.
A Year of Success
“Having the PokerGO Studio right in my backyard has been incredibly convenient and made it easier to put in volume.” ~ David Coleman, 2024 GPI Player of the Year
Success represents many different things to poker players, but the numbers that add up to winning the Global Poker Index are irrefutable. To finish top of the GPI pile, you have to be the best of the best and in 2024 that was David Coleman. The high roller is one of the most profitable players on PokerStake. The modest master of the modern game is humble about how he did it.
“First and foremost, I think a lot of my success came down to getting lucky in some key spots,” he says. “Poker tournaments are such a crapshoot, and I just happened to be on the right side of a lot of coolers and won some crucial all-ins when it mattered most.”
David moved to Las Vegas in September of 2023, so in 2024, he spent his first full year focusing on live tournaments.
“Having the PokerGO Studio right in my backyard has been incredibly convenient and made it easier to put in volume. This year, I also played my first Triton Poker Series in Jeju and my first two EPTs in Paris and Barcelona. With this significant increase in live tournament volume, I found myself becoming a lot more comfortable and confident at the table, which really helped in the big moments.”
David credits the support of his family and friends massively in pushing him over the line.
“They’ve been there through the ups and downs, celebrating the wins and helping me keep perspective during the inevitable swings. Knowing they have my back has been a huge source of motivation and made the journey all the more rewarding.”
Cherish Andrews was named as the GPI Female Player of the Year for the second time in three years and is delighted to have sealed victory again.
“It feels good to win,” she admits. “I’ve said it a lot that it’s one that I struggle with – women being in their own separate category – but that’s a different issue. Yes, it feels good to win and to have had a great year.”
“When I moved to Vegas, I committed to developing a completely new routine,” David says. “My lifestyle has centered around my mental and physical health. I started working out regularly, meditating, eating healthier, and incorporating intermittent fasting into my schedule. Playing sports has been another great outlet for both fitness and balance. Recently, I’ve also added yoga to my routine, which has been transformative in improving my flexibility and mindfulness. All these activities have given me the endurance and mental clarity to stay composed and make high-quality decisions deep into sessions, even when fatigue might affect others.”
The Closest Rivals
“I want to top everyone – man or woman.” ~ Cherish Andrews, GPI Female Player of the Year
Over the course of the past twelve months, both David and Cherish battled in particular against two of their biggest friends who turned into their closest rivals in 2024. David outran his fellow American Jesse Lonis in one of the tightest battles in recent years.
“It’s funny – Jesse and I both thought he was ahead by a small margin going into the final events of the year at the Wynn,” he says. “I was deep in the $1,600 Mystery Bounty, and he was deep in the $10K No Limit, and we were both running through scenarios in our heads about what I needed to finish to pass him.”
With two tables left in the Mystery Bounty event, a mistake – not by David – led to him unwittingly taking the lead in the race.
“A friend texted me that Hendon Mob had mistakenly credited my third-place finish in the Seminole Hard Rock $5K for $100K to a different ‘David Coleman.’ Once I reached out to fix the error, those points put me ahead of Jesse. In the end, Jesse finished seventh in the $10K, and I finished 12th in the $1,600, but neither result impacted the POY points, so I stayed ahead of him.”
Jesse Lonis also had a terrific year in the POY race and David calls him an ‘amazing’ player, believing himself to be simply luckier than his opponents in taking the title. That’s modesty, no doubt, and Cherish feels the same about her illustrious rival who ran her closest – Kristen Foxen.
“Krissy and I are friends and I was rooting very hard for her to win,” she tells us. “I think some people assume that women are uber competitive with just each other but I want to top everyone – man or woman.”
Staking Their Claim
“It’s such a great platform to connect with fans and give them a chance to be part of the journey.” ~ David Coleman
Over the course of the past 12 months, scores of PokerStake investors have enjoyed the profits that David and Cherish have brought to their shares of the big buy-ins. Both players think 2025 could be even more exciting for their fans.
“I’ve really enjoyed selling on PokerStake – it’s such a great platform to connect with fans and give them a chance to be part of the journey,” says David. “I can’t thank my backers enough for their incredible support throughout 2024; it means so much to have so many people believing in me and cheering me on.”
“I have – I like PokerStake,” Cherish agrees, and has seen those close to her snap up her action. “It’s fun to sell bits and pieces here at face to ‘fans’ of poker, though I think my friends stalk it when I do and steal it!”
Planning for the next year of action is already top of both players’ agendas this month.
“Looking ahead to 2025, fans can expect me to play a similar schedule to this past year, traveling the world once again to compete in many big-field tournaments ranging from $3,500 to $100,000 buy-ins,” says David. “I’ll be regularly selling action on PokerStake for the bigger buy-in events, and I’m excited to share more opportunities with all of you. Let’s make 2025 another amazing year!”
“I enjoy it!” Cherish concurs. “It’s nice to give others a fun sweat! I’m extremely excited for the upcoming year – I’m hoping to continue my success and hopefully this is the year I can win POY overall.”
You heard it here first – Cherish is after David’s crown in 2025. We’d say there can only be one winner, but as you’ll know if you’ve headed to David’s or Cherish’s PokerStake profiles and invested it the past year, we can all join in the success of the two biggest winners during 2024 according to the Global Poker Index.
