Global Poker Index: Dan Smith Surges to the Top Three

Dan Smith

Each week, the Global Poker Index releases a list of the top 300 tournament poker players in the world using a formula that takes a player's results over six half-year periods. For a look at the entire list of 300, visit the official GPI website.

The Top 10 as of July 23, 2012

RankPlayerTotal ScoreChange in Rank from Last Week
1Jason Mercier2,847.86--
2Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier2,753.39--
3Dan Smith2,631.75+9
4Steve O'Dwyer2,597.80--
5Vanessa Selbst2,594.33-2
6Marvin Rettenmaier2,586.06-1
7Erik Seidel2,545.21--
8Eugene Katchalov2,506.21-2
9Andrew Lichtenberger2,482.07-1
10Jonathan Duhamel2,468.54-1

Dan Smith jumped into the top 10 this week. His win in the Aussie Millions $100,000 Challenge in January slipped into Period 2, but with four, four-figure scores to minimize the Period 1 points lost, his Period 2 slate received a solid boost and outweighed the Period 1 loss.

Welcome to the GPI

Five players led by Kristijonas Andrulis at No. 164 are new to this week's GPI. He finished runner-up in the $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em event at the Bellagio Cup VIII for $290,185.

New Additions

PlayerTotal GPI ScoreGPI Rank
Kristijonas Andrulis1,386.54164th
Tim West1,244.95220th
Brandon Meyers1,218.49229th
Jan Bendik1,168.39248th
Sean Jazayeri1,100.25284th

Falling from the GPI this week were Joe Hachem, Marton Czuczor, Nicolas Cardyn, Oliver Speidel, and Viktor Blom.

Ups and Downs

The biggest rise of the week belonged to both Alain Roy and Igor Kurganov. Roy finished in fourth place in the aforementioned $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em event at Bellagio Cup VIII. Kurganov's win in a $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em High Roller event from the Deep Stack Extravaganza III last month kicked in this week. He earned $128,520 for that win, topping a field of 27.

Biggest Gains

RankPlayerTotal ScoreChange in Rank From Last Week
37thJason Koon1,977.50+19
42ndRoger Hairabedian1,939.68+35
58thWilliam Reynolds1,854.47+34
67thPhil Ivey1,816.90+35
79thGalen Hall1,731.67+25
98thIgor Kurganov1,644.93+73
118thJoe Elpayaa1,542.97+31
127thMichael Benvenuti1,509.82+25
153rdWilliam Thorson1,423.84+66
160thAlain Roy1,402.86+73
176thCliff Josephy1,351.51+54
180thSteve Brecher1,344.89+30

Meanwhile, Matt Stout took the biggest hit this week. His fifth-place result in the 2012 Southern Poker Million Dollar Heater in January aged into Period 2. John Dolan, who won that tournament, was also among this week's biggest falls.

Biggest Drops

RankPlayerTotal ScoreChange in Rank From Last Week
102ndDominykas Karmazinas1,631.01-31
119thDavid Steicke1,541.15-30
140thAdam Geyer1,459.58-29
161stFaraz Jaka1,397.40-19
156thJonathan Little1,418.65-44
158thMicah Raskin1,409.66-27
195thHafiz Khan1,308.10-36
203rdJohn Dolan1,283.82-35
211thMatt Stout1,260.01-51
241stKhiem Nguyen1,195.45-26
273rdMichael Tureniec1,122.12-30
290thMark Rose1,089.88-40

What's In Store?

The live event schedule will start to pick back up in August, so you can continue to expect minor fluctuations in the GPI until then.

To look at the entire list of 300, visit the official GPI website. While you're at it, follow the GPI on Twitter and its Facebook page.

To stay on top of the GPI and other happenings in the poker world, follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook.

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