Global Poker Index: Dominik Panka Leaps Past Vanessa Selbst for Player of the Year

Dominik Panka

Each week, the Global Poker Index releases a list of the top 300 tournament poker players in the world using a formula that takes into account a player's results over six half-year periods. The GPI also ranks the top performers of the year over two six-month periods as calculated by the USA Today Global Poker Index point system.

For a look at both lists, visit the official GPI website.

2014 GPI Player of the Year

RankPlayerGPI ScoreChange
1Dominik Panka397.13+10
2Dan Smith385.81+5
3Vanessa Selbst 383.14-2
4Alexander Denisov 337.93-2
5Mustapha Kanit286.13+36
6Marvin Rettenmaier278.11+32
7Mike McDonald277.99-4
8Ole Schemion 274.37-4
9Marcin Wydrowski269.47+37
10Isaac Baron265.83+7

Dominik Panka stormed to the top of the Player of the Year standings this week after claiming his second major victory of the year. Panka won the European Poker Tour High Roller on Feb. 1, just two weeks after winning the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Main Event. The Polish pro has more than $1.8 million in earnings already in 2014 and is the early man to catch for POY.

Dan Smith climbed to No. 2 in the standings, jumping past Vanessa Selbst after finishing runner-up at the Aussie Millions $25,000 Challenge. Smith, the 2012 GPI Player of the Year, has four cashes this year for more than $370,000.

Joining the top 10 this week were Mustapha Kanit, Marvin Rettenmaier, Marcin Wydrowski and Isaac Baron. Kanit, who was one of the biggest movers on the POY leader board, won the opening event at the Aussie Millions late last month for $196,000.

GPI 300 Top 10

RankPlayerScoreChange
1Ole Schemion3916.90-
2 Daniel Negreanu3846.86-
3Marvin Rettenmaier3776.52-
4Philipp Gruissem3695.52-1
5Dan Smith3439.63+1
6Vanessa Selbst3426.44-
7Ravi Raghavan3299.15-
8Paul Volpe3258.22-
9Mike McDonald3244.12-
10Bryn Kenney3239.84-

There were no new players among the top 10 of the GPI 300 this week, and the only change was Dan Smith moving up one spot to No. 4, switching positions with Philipp Gruissem. Nearly everyone in the top 10 is in Melbourne for the Aussie Millions, so there may be some movement following the conclusion of the Main Event, the $100,000 Challenge, and the $250,000 Challenge.

Welcome to the GPI

RankPlayerGPI Points
219Alexander Kravchenko1698.80
236Tyler Patterson1664.40
240Alexander Kuzmin1657.34
247Joep van den Bijgaart1633.86
248Kunal Patel1633.67
282Artur Koren1537.98
291John Racener1509.98
294James Collopy1504.25

Alex Kravchenko returned to the GPI 300 this week. The Team PokerStars Pro landed at No. 219 after finishing 10th at the EPT Deauville High Roller for €22,800. With that score, he eclipsed $4 million in live tournament earnings for his career.

Among those who dropped out of the GPI 300 this week was Jake Cody, who recently announced that he would be taking a break from poker to take care of his newborn. We're sure the talented tournament pro will eventually return to the top 300.

Biggest Gains

RankPlayerTotal GPI ScoreChange
108Ondrej Vinklarek2077.14+98
143Rasmus Agerskov Larsen1911.56+94
169Mustapha Kanit1825.51+92
172Martin Staszko1812.65+92
190Tobias Reinkemeier1763.73+91

Ondrej Vinklarek was the biggest mover this week. The Czech Republic's No. 1 player had four cashes at EPT Deauville, including a fourth-place finish in the High Roller for €101,000.

German High Roller extraordinaire Tobias Reinkemeier also made a big leap following his eighth-place finish in the Aussie Millions $25,000 Challenge.

Biggest Drops

RankPlayerTotal GPI ScoreChange
256Walid Bou Habib1951.44-99
264Blair Hinkle1589.84-64
193Tom Hall1750.14-45
215Atanas Gueorguiev1706.63-41
174Salvatore Bonavena1803.98-32
261Zoltan Purak1597.84-32

Walid Bou Habib dropped the furthest this week after his runner-up finish at last year's EPT Deauville Main Event dropped into Period 3 of the GPI formula. Also dropping this week was Blair Hinkle, whose seventh-place finish at the CardPlayer Poker Tour Main Event in Choctaw dropped into Period 2. Hinkle will likely drop out of the GPI 300 this month when his first-place result at the 2013 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open also slips into Period 2.

To view 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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