BD Awards

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Player of the Year, Men: Fedor Gorst

Inventing a new achievement in winning international-level titles is one way to put a stamp on a dominant year. Fedor Gorst strung together three wins — the World Pool Masters, the U.S. Open Pool Championship and the World Pool Championship — that’s now been tagged the Gorst Slam. Pocketing more than $500,000 in tournaments, nearly $200,000 more than runner-up Joshua Filler according to AZBilliards.com, Gorst was unquestionably the best in the world in 2024. Just 24 years old, the American-by-way-of-Russia is poised to be the man, or at least a man, to beat at any major event for the foreseeable future.

A woman holding up a trophy in front of a crowd

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Player of the Year, Women: Kristina Tkach

For the first time in Billiards Digest’s history, POY awards are shared by one couple. Kristina Tkach, soon to be married to Gorst, turned in an impressively consistent performance for her 2024 season. Winning the $50,000 World 10-Ball Championship, she also knocked off a pair of WPBA titles (at the Iron City Invitational and Railyard Invitational). With $137,000 in tournament earnings, Tkach outpaced the field by more than $45,000. Weddings can be expensive–so here’s to hoping the Players of the Year socked away a few bucks for the nuptials.