Atlético Ottawa’s Ollie Bassett has been named the inaugural winner of the Canadian Premier League Players’ Player of the Year award.

“It means a lot to be voted by players that you play against week in and week out, that they recognize your individual success,” said Bassett.

Voting for the award took place in early October and a total of 180 players submitted their top three players, with five points awarded to their number one choice, three points for their second selection, and one point for whomever they picked third. Any player who played in the league during the 2022 season was eligible to vote and be included for consideration by the players. Players were not allowed to vote for anyone from their own team, and voting took place strictly based on how the players performed in the Canadian Premier League regular season.

In total, 45 players received votes during a process that saw players meet face-to-face with members of the Canadian Premier League office to give their choices. The results of the vote were revealed during Friday evening’s 2022 CPL awards show in Ottawa.

The Players’ Player of the Year will be awarded the Muskox, a sculpture carved by Inuit artist Ruben Komangapik. The Muskox represents leadership, organization and defence of its most vulnerable members.

Scoring

Bassett finished with 307 points and was named on 79 of the 158 ballots (50 per cent) possible, receiving 45 first-place votes. He was not eligible to be named on 22 of them submitted by players from his own club.

Finishing second place was his Atlético Ottawa teammate Ballou Tabla with 269 points, named on 73 ballots with 38 first-place votes.

Golden Boot winner and former Pacific striker Alejandro Díaz, scorer of 13 league goals in 18 games, finished third with 173 points, named on 47 ballots with 27 first-place votes.

Newly crowned U-21 Canadian Player of the Year, Sean Rea, of Valour FC, finished fourth with 112 points, named on 40 ballots with 12 first-place votes.

Pacific FC midfielder Manny Aparicio finished fifth with 98 points, named on 34 ballots with nine first-place votes.

Forward Mo Babouli of York United finished sixth with 78 points, named on 34 ballots with seven first-place votes.

Cavalry FC playmaker Ali Musse finished seventh on 65 points, named on 24 ballots with eight first-place votes.

Forge FC’s Alexander Achinioti-Jönsson, who picked up the Defender of the Year award as well, finished eighth with 63 points, named on 23 ballots with four first-place votes.

Kyle Bekker, Forge FC’s skipper, finished ninth with 62 points, named on 22 ballots with six first-place votes.

Woobens Pacius, also of Forge FC, finished tenth with 59 points, named on 21 ballots with four first-place votes.

Full top 20:

1. Ollie Bassett (Atlético Ottawa) — 307 points
2. Ballou Tabla (Atlético Ottawa) — 269 points
3. Alejandro Díaz (Pacific FC) — 173 points
4. Sean Rea (Valour FC) — 112 points
5. Manny Aparicio (Pacific FC) — 98 points
6. Mo Babouli (York United) — 78 points
7. Ali Musse (Cavalry FC) — 65 points
8. Alexander Achinioti-Jönsson (Forge FC) — 63 points
9. Kyle Bekker (Forge FC) — 62 points
10. Woobens Pacius (Forge FC) — 59 points
11. Osaze De Rosario (York United) — 39 points
12. Moses Dyer (Valour FC) — 32 points
13. Andre Rampersad (Halifax Wanderers) — 30 points
14. José Escalante (Cavalry FC) — 28 points
15. Nathan Ingham (Atlético Ottawa) — 22 points
16. Aboubacar Sissoko (Forge FC) — 17 points
17. Amer Didic (Pacific FC) — 16 points
T-18. Tristan Borges (Forge FC) — 12 points
T-18. David Choinière (Forge FC) — 12 points
T-20. Gianni Dos Santos (Pacific FC) — 10 points
T-20. Chrisnovic N’sa (York United) — 10 points

Others to receive votes

The following players also received votes and are listed in alphabetical order:

Miguel Acosta (Atlético Ottawa), Keven Alemán (Atlético Ottawa), Marco Bustos (Pacific FC), Gabriel Bitar (FC Edmonton), Marco Carducci (Cavalry FC), Matteo De Brienne (Valour FC), Diego Espejo (Atlético Ottawa), Jérémy Gagnon-Laparé (Halifax Wanderers), Diego Gutiérrez (Valour FC), Josh Heard (Pacific FC), Triston Henry (Forge FC), Alessandro Hojabrpour (Forge FC), Callum Irving (Pacific FC), Andrew Jean-Baptiste (Valour FC), Isaiah Johnston (York United), Brett Levis (Valour FC), Joe Mason (Cavalry FC), Garven Metusala (Forge FC), Samuel Salter (Halifax Wanderers), Maxim Tissot (Atlético Ottawa), Tobias Warschewski (FC Edmonton), Brian Wright (Atlético Ottawa), Karifa Yao (Cavalry FC), Dominick Zator (York United).