Mike McDonald Edges Out Steve O'Dwyer for EPT Player of the Year By Slightest Margin
In a race that truly came down to the wire, Mike "Timex" McDonald has been crowned the European Poker Tour Player of the Year for Season 12. McDonald beat out Steve O'Dwyer for the title by less than one point.
The two went into the 2016 PokerStars and Monte-Carlo® Casino EPT Grand Final neck and neck. O'Dwyer took the lead with a ninth-place finish in the €50,000 Super High Roller, and then he distanced himself by cashing in the €25,750 High Roller in 31st place. In between those two cashes from O'Dwyer, McDonald added a little bit to his total with a 10th-place finish in a €550 event.
But then, in the very last event of the festival, the €10,200 Six-Max No-Limit Hold'em Turbo, McDonald finished with a cash in seventh place and moved ahead of O'Dwyer by .96 points.
EPT Season 12 Player of the Year Top 10
| Place | Player | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mike McDonald | 3,747.38 |
| 2 | Steve O'Dwyer | 3,746.42 |
| 3 | Ivan Luca | 3,097.93 |
| 4 | Adrian Mateos | 2,901.41 |
| 5 | Georgios Zisimopoulos | 2,803.04 |
| 6 | Isaac Haxton | 2,712.51 |
| 7 | Fedor Holz | 2,552.36 |
| 8 | Ole Schemion | 2,528.04 |
| 9 | Joao Vieira | 2,485.89 |
| 10 | Daniel Dvoress | 2,436.29 |
To earn the win, McDonald cashed in 18 EPT events. His best result, both from a monetary standpoint and a points standpoint, was a first-place finish in the EPT Malta €25,750 High Roller for €498,575.
Two other players were awarded with EPT Player of the Year titles, as the system has three tiers total. McDonald's award was in the Platinum tier, which covers all EPT events, no matter the buy-in. In the Gold tier, which represents all tournaments with buy-ins $3,000 or lower, Miguel Silva won the title comfortably, beating out Walter Treccarichi by a score of 1,851.51 points to 1,598.59 points.
In the Silver tier, which represents all tournaments with buy-ins $600 or lower, Adam Milewski narrowly beat Raiden Kan by a score of 51.77 points to 50.75 points.
EPT Season 12 Player of the Year was powered by the Global Poker Index. For more on the rankings, click here.
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