Global Poker Index: Five Weeks as Overall Leader for Jason Mercier
Each week, the Global Poker Index releases a list of the top tournament poker players in the world using a formula that takes into account a player’s results over six half-year periods. For a look at the entire list, visit the official GPI website. Here’s a look at the rankings as of August 19, 2015.
2015 GPI Player of the Year
| Rank | Player | GPI Score | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Anthony Zinno | 4192.90 | - |
| 2 | Connor Drinan | 3771.11 | - |
| 3 | Scott Seiver | 3610.29 | - |
| 4 | Byron Kaverman | 3510.55 | - |
| 5 | Dzmitry Urbanovich | 3380.69 | - |
| 6 | Stephen Chidwick | 3352.70 | - |
| 7 | Dominick Nitsche | 3300.81 | - |
| 8 | Erik Seidel | 3286.10 | - |
| 9 | Nicholas Petrangelo | 3277.39 | - |
| 10 | Paul Volpe | 3274.50 | - |
All was quiet this week atop the 2015 Global Poker Index Player of the Year leaderboard, with zero changes among the top 10 and Anthony Zinno remaining the frontrunner for a seventh-straight week.
Glancing down the POY list to share some news of moves, Scott Clements rose from No. 51 to No. 38 this week after winning one High Roller event and finishing runner-up in a second at the World Series of Poker National Championship in Cherokee, North Carolina.
Vladimir Troyanovskiy also ascended from No. 82 to No. 52 after a successful week in Famagusta in North Cyprus where he final tabled three events in a Russian Poker Tour series stop, winning one of them.
GPI 300 Top 10
| Rank | Player | GPI Score | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jason Mercier | 4043.95 | - |
| 2 | Anthony Zinno | 4021.32 | +2 |
| 3 | Byron Kaverman | 3987.89 | -1 |
| 4 | Scott Seiver | 3901.43 | -1 |
| 5 | Stephen Chidwick | 3748.14 | - |
| 6 | Dan Smith | 3710.76 | - |
| 7 | Bryn Kenney | 3648.60 | - |
| 8 | Dominik Nitsche | 3573.80 | - |
| 9 | Paul Volpe | 3547.33 | - |
| 10 | Dario Sammartino | 3520.35 | - |
Like the POY top 10, the top of the GPI overall rankings were similarly without much movement aside from Anthony Zinno moving up a couple of spots from No. 4 to No. 2 to come within just a tiny cash of overtaking Jason Mercier’s spot at the top. Mercier kept the No. 1 ranking for a fifth-straight week, however.
Mercier will be adding some points to his total after his victory yesterday in the $25,400 High Roller event in the 2015 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open. Points-wise, that win will replace an earlier one from this year for Mercier since only the top six results in a given six-month period are counted. Mercier will also see a score from a year ago at the European Poker Tour Barcelona stop enter a third aging period and thus count for fewer points. Still, the win should afford Mercier a bit of breathing room at the top next week.
Welcome to the GPI Top 300
| Rank | Player | Total Score |
|---|---|---|
| 286 | Nick Pupillo | 1698.23 |
| 300 | David Nowling | 1657.14 |
Evidence of just how quiet a week it was for tournament poker comes by looking at the bottom of the GPI top 300 as only two new players nudged their way onto this week, with Nick Pupillo making a small move from No. 301 to No. 286 and David Nowling a bigger one from No. 351 to No. 300.
Biggest Gains
| Rank | Player | Total GPI Score | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 300 | David Nowling | 1657.14 | +51 |
| 227 | Ryan Fee | 1831.43 | +45 |
| 195 | Louis Salter | 1918.33 | +43 |
| 169 | Ryan Riess | 2008.73 | +42 |
| 162 | Jeff Gross | 2028.62 | +31 |
Nowling’s jump earned him the distinction as the biggest gainer for the week among those in the top 300. Ryan Fee likewise made a considerable move upwards from No. 272 to No. 227.
Biggest Drops
| Rank | Player | Total GPI Score | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 277 | Rumen Nanev | 1721.58 | -43 |
| 197 | Stuart Rutter | 1916.03 | -37 |
| 233 | Marc-Etienne McLaughlin | 1813.43 | -37 |
| 246 | Miroslav Alilovic | 1787.12 | -36 |
| 118 | Dan Colman | 2287.12 | -35 |
Finally among the players who retained spots inside the GPI top 300 it was Rumen Nanev dropping the most after going from No. 234 to No. 277. Dan Colman appears on this list as well after losing his spot in the top 100 (falling from No. 83 to No. 118), however he’ll be gaining back next week after finishing third of 907 in the $5,250 buy-in 2015 SHRPO No-Limit Hold’em Championship won by Omar Zazay.
What to Expect Next Week
The poker world’s focus moves to Barcelona, Spain this week as Season 12 of the European Poker Tour is now fully underway with this week’s start of the 71-event EPT Barcelona festival. Highlights of the schedule include the already begun €1K Estrellas Main Event, the €50K Super High Roller (Aug. 22-24), the €25K One-Day High Roller (Aug. 25), the €10K High Roller (Aug. 28-30), and the €5,300 EPT Main Event (Aug. 24-30).
Remember, the PokerNews’ Live Reporting team will be on hand at the Casino Barcelona starting this weekend for full coverage of the high rollers and EPT Main.
To view both the 2015 Player of the Year and GPI overall rankings in their entirety, visit the official GPI website. While you’re at it, follow the GPI on Twitter and its Facebook page.
