Global Poker Index: Mizrachi and Klodnicki Making Waves; Mercier Back on Top
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 2, 2012
| Rank | Player | Total Score | Change in Rank from Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jason Mercier | 2,758.08 | +1 |
| 2 | Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier | 2,756.49 | -1 |
| 3 | Marvin Rettenmaier | 2,586.09 | +1 |
| 4 | Steve O'Dwyer | 2,580.52 | -1 |
| 5 | Vanessa Selbst | 2,474.26 | +5 |
| 6 | Shawn Buchanan | 2,466.63 | +1 |
| 7 | David "Doc" Sands | 2,455.62 | +1 |
| 8 | Eugene Katchalov | 2,439.37 | -3 |
| 9 | Noah Schwartz | 2,410.62 | +3 |
| 10 | Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi | 2,407.29 | +26 |
Jason Mercier is back on top of the GPI this week. He and Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier lost about 100 points from their total scores this week, but Grospllier took the bigger hit. His third-place finish in the $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em Six-Max event from the 2011 World Series of Poker fell into Period 3. Mercier's sixth-place finish in the $2,500 Limit 2-7 Triple Draw Lowball last summer aged from Period 2, but his drop in points was not as severe.
Making his debut in the GPI top ten is Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi following his win in the $50,000 Poker Players Championship. He rose up the ranks 26 places. Also ascending the GPI is the runner-up in that event, Chris Klodnicki. He climbed 15 spots and is No. 14.
Welcome to the GPI
New Additions
Sixteen players are new to this week's GPI, led by Maria Ho at No. 221. With three recent WSOP cashes, Ho rounded out her Period 1 slate with a full four cashes.
| Player | Total GPI Score | GPI Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Maria Ho | 1,234.59 | 221st |
| Lee Goldman | 1,209.98 | 229th |
| Brett Richey | 1,202.51 | 232nd |
| Tim Finne | 1,169.59 | 245th |
| Fabrizio Gonzalez | 1,165.57 | 249th |
| Chad Brown | 1,161.45 | 251st |
| Andy Bloch | 1,151.28 | 254th |
| Rob Akery | 1,140.63 | 261st |
| Justin Schwartz | 1,123.71 | 267th |
| Marc Inizan | 1,118.93 | 271st |
| Jeremy Ausmus | 1,118.47 | 273rd |
| Tyler Bonkowski | 1,108. | 277th |
| Barny Boatman | 1,105.86 | 278th |
| Juan Manuel Pastor | 1,104.76 | 279th |
| Viktor Blom | 1,100.12 | 283rd |
| Harrison Gimbel | 1,090.23 | 291st |
Falling from the GPI this week were Alessio Isaia, Andrew Robl, Balazs Botond, Dylan Wilkerson, Josh Arieh, Kenny Shih, Mark Radoja, Mike Beasley, Mike Binger, Mike Leah, Nikolai Yakovenko, Owais Ahmed, Ryan Welch, Simon Charette, Vladimir Kochelaevskiy, and Brian Rast.
Ups and Downs
The biggest rise of the week belonged to Fernando Brito. The Portuguese pro had two WSOP cashes last week, including a third-place finish in a $2,500 No-Limit Hold'em tournament (Event #46) worth $282,676.
Biggest Gains
| Rank | Player | Total Score | Change in Rank From Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|
| 77th | Fernando Brito | 1,710.64 | +112 |
| 78th | Amir Lehavot | 1,709.00 | +55 |
| 89th | Kyle Julius | 1,685.89 | +69 |
| 122nd | Jonathan Little | 1,508.50 | +52 |
| 123rd | Matt Giannetti | 1,501.66 | +120 |
| 130th | Dwyte Pilgrim | 1,485.16 | +67 |
| 159th | Micah Raskin | 1,399.89 | +60 |
| 176th | Pratyush Buddiga | 1,341.62 | +89 |
| 182nd | Paul Berende | 1,331.74 | +87 |
| 187th | Chris McClung | 1,320.71 | +63 |
Reigning WSOP Player of the Year Ben Lamb took the biggest his this week, falling 115 places. In 111th place just two weeks ago, Lamb is due to slide out of the GPI altogether as early as next week. This week, it's his eighth-place finish in last year's $50,000 Poker Players Championship that slipped into Period 2. Depending on when last year's Main Event start/end date is determined to be (as early as July/as late as November), his third-place finish is going to slip into Period 2.
Biggest Drops
| Rank | Player | Total Score | Change in Rank From Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|
| 158th | Scott Seiver | 1,401.86 | -75 |
| 161st | Barry Greenstein | 1,395.40 | -89 |
| 173rd | Joe Ebanks | 1,353.24 | -59 |
| 211th | Nick Grippo | 1,254.94 | -47 |
| 216th | Eric Froehlich | 1,241.46 | -73 |
| 225th | Allen Bari | 1,217.24 | -58 |
| 248th | Bryce Yockey | 1,166.68 | -53 |
| 285th | Ben Lamb | 1,097.29 | -115 |
| 287th | Dmitry Gromov | 1,096.09 | -66 |
| 297th | Antony Lellouche | 1,086.24 | -43 |
What's In Store?
The Big One for One Drop concluded on Tuesday and Antonio Esfandiari claimed the victory. Needless to say, he'll shoot up the ranks from his current rank, No. 207.
Sam Trickett (No.97) finished second, Phil Hellmuth (No. 48) finished fourth, and Brian Rast, who fell off the GPI this week, finished sixth. Each of them will shoot up the ranks next week.
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.
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