Global Poker Index: Joseph Cheong On Verge of Cracking The Top 10
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.
Top 10 as of December 24, 2012
| Rank | Player | Total Score | Rank Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dan Smith | 3,051.95 | --- |
| 2 | Marvin Rettenmaier | 2,942.82 | -- |
| 3 | Jason Mercier | 2,784.95 | +1 |
| 4 | Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier | 2,730.60 | -1 |
| 5 | Andrew Lichtenberger | 2,559.76 | +1 |
| 6 | Phil Hellmuth | 2,527.95 | -1 |
| 7 | Vanessa Selbst | 2,446.35 | -- |
| 8 | David Sands | 2,410.74 | -- |
| 9 | Mike Watson | 2,410. 21 | -- |
| 10 | Steve O'Dwyer | 2,390.22 | -- |
Though there wasn't much going on inside the top 10, Joseph Cheong jumped 12 spots to just outside the top 10 at No. 11. His ninth-place showing in Event No. 34 ($5,000 PLO Six-Max) at the 2012 World Series of Poker aged into Period 2, where it previously was not among his top four results in Period 1.
Welcome to the GPI
Eleven players are new to this week's GPI, led by Jose Manuel Nadal at No. 218. Nadal finished in 16h place in the Main Event at European Poker Tour Prague for €29,000.
New Additions
| Player | Total GPI Score | GPI Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Jose Manuel Nadal | 1,178.76 | 218th |
| Chance Kornuth | 1,077.11 | 268th |
| Denys Drobyna | 1,064.51 | 279th |
| Andrey Pateychuk | 1,047.69 | 288th |
| Joe Ebanks | 1,045.48 | 289th |
| Eric Froehlich | 1,043.11 | 291st |
| Hafiz Khan | 1,034.80 | 294th |
| Carla Soninas | 1,033.46 | 296th |
| Massimo Mosele | 1,033.28 | 298th |
| Stephane Albertini | 1,030.01 | 299th |
| Brian Hastings | 1,027.67 | 300th |
Falling from the GPI this week were Allan Le, Brett Richey, Jason DeWitt, Jeff Lisandro, Jesse Alexis Cohen, John Hennigan, Josh Brikis, Mikhail Lakhitov, Ryan Julius, Wilfried Harig and Zachary Korik.
Ups and Downs
The biggest rise of the week belonged to Tomeu Gomila following his third-place finish in a €1,500 No-Limit Hold'em — Prague Super Event at World Poker Tour Prague that is now reflected in the GPI.
Biggest Gains
| Rank | Player | Total Score | Change in Rank From Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|
| 87th | Fernando Brito | 1,609.99 | +52 |
| 89th | Michael Benvenuti | 1,606.15 | +44 |
| 120th | Nick Grippo | 1,465.98 | +38 |
| 144th | Tomeu Gomila | 1,378.69 | +122 |
| 162nd | Samad Razavi | 1,323.42 | +75 |
| 168th | Alessandro Longobardi | 1,314.01 | +76 |
| 177th | Chris Bjorin | 1,276.20 | +46 |
| 196th | Tom Alner | 1,229.70 | +75 |
| 204th | Rodrigo Caprioli | 1,212.81 | +58 |
| 243rd | Maria Ho | 1,132.04 | +44 |
Tied for the biggest falls were Jason Koon and Terrence Chan. Koon's 14th-place finish in Event No. 41 at the 2012 WSOP aged into Period 2, while Chan's seventh-place result in Event No. 40 also aged into Period 2.
Biggest Drops
| Rank | Player | Total Score | Rank Change from Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|
| 96th | Jason Koon | 1,579.89 | -64 |
| 122nd | Davidi Kitai | 1,459.05 | -48 |
| 174th | Joe Tehan | 1,296.34 | -48 |
| 198th | John Racener | 1,228.02 | -49 |
| 208th | Roland Israelashvili | 1,195.23 | -61 |
| 238th | Alex Venovski | 1,137.11 | -53 |
| 250th | David Peters | 1,116.64 | -57 |
| 252nd | Rocco Palumbo | 1,113.06 | -48 |
| 282nd | Bryan Devoshire | 1,056.74 | -61 |
| 292nd | Terrence Chan | 1,036.60 | -64 |
What's in Store?
Changes are coming to the GPI. Every year, an annual review is done to keep the GPI as in tune as possible with the poker world. There are two key changes that will have a significant effect.
First, the minimum tournament buy-in will be lowered from $1,500 to $1,000. Second, the number of scores spread out over the course of the six six-month periods will rise from 21 to 26. With these changes, the GPI can better provide an overall better scope of a player's consistency over the three years.
The changes will take effect in next week's rankings, so expect to see a few shakeups. For a more in-depth look at the changes, check out the Global Poker Index about page.
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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