The second PokerListings Spirit of Poker Awards ceremony will take place during the Battle of Malta in November and includes three categories: Living Legend, Rising Star, and Most Inspiring Player. Last year's awarded players were @Pierre Neuville @Luca Moschitta  and @Naoya Kihara. 

We are happy to present two of the nominees in the Rising Star category - Poland's @Dominik Panka and Sweden's @Sofia Lovgren.

This is the second nomination for Sofia Lovgren who last year was more than happy to see the award go to her boyfriend Luca Moschitta. Sofia became the first ever female ambassador for PKR in 2008 and this year signed a new sponsorship deal with 888 Poker. She has been a professional online poker player for many years and as a sponsored player is also a regular at all major live poker events.

In January 2014, as Dominik Panka was advancing to the PCA Main Event final table, he was still referred to as 'the newcomer'. In that tournament, he famously defeated @Mike McDonald (who was hoping to become the first double EPT champion) for $1,423,096 and then went on to Deaville where he added a six-figure score to his winnings by taking down the High Roller event. Dominik has since become a PokerStars sponsored player and is a factor to reckon with on the live circuit.

Sofia and Dominik are two of the best-liked young players in Europe and in fact do not need an award to confirm their star status :) 

More on RankingHero:

Happy Birthday to Sofia Lovgren!

Sofia Lovgren Announces New Sponsorship Deal

Three Young Love Couples to Watch Out For

Newcomer Dominik Panka and Online Legend Viktor Isildur1 Blom with Similar Live Performance Records

Team Poland Running Strong in EPT Barcelona Main Event

PokerListings Spirit of Poker Awards: http://www.pokerlistings.com/pokerlistings-awards