Global Poker Index: Fedor Holz Doing Fine in First in Both Overall and POY Rankings
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 June 22, 2016.
2016 GPI Player of the Year
| Rank | Player | GPI Score | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fedor Holz | 2990.14 | - |
| 2 | Bryn Kenney | 2572.18 | +1 |
| 3 | Dominik Nitsche | 2486.80 | -1 |
| 4 | Stephen Chidwick | 2371.24 | - |
| 5 | Ari Engel | 2339.12 | - |
| 6 | Anthony Zinno | 2320.35 | - |
| 7 | Steve O'Dwyer | 2184.01 | - |
| 8 | Jason Mercier | 2181.91 | +88 |
| 9 | Samuel Panzica | 2170.46 | -1 |
| 10 | Brian Altman | 2154.52 | - |
The GPI's 2016 Player of the Year leaderboard is now being updated each week, with Fedor Holz having taken over the lead in those rankings after Ari Engel enjoyed a brief period at the top when the first list was shared earlier in the month. Holz made his move thanks to a string of high roller scores here in June, starting with a runner-up in the $300,000 Super High Roller Bowl and followed by two victories over the last two weeks in $25,000 buy-in Aria High Rollers.
In contrast to the relative quiet atop the POY leaderboard over the last seven days, Jason Mercier has stormed into the top 10 in dramatic fashion, going from No. 310 (on June 2) to No. 96 (on June 15) to No. 8 this week. Mercier, of course, has been the talk of the 2016 World Series of Poker where he currently leads the GPI-powered 2016 WSOP POY race thanks to winning two bracelets, coming runner-up in another, and taking eighth in one more — all four of them $10K "Championship" events.
GPI 300 Top 10
| Rank | Player | GPI Score | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fedor Holz | 4441.17 | - |
| 2 | Jason Mercier | 4429.03 | +2 |
| 3 | Anthony Zinno | 4280.91 | -1 |
| 4 | Steve O'Dwyer | 4224.50 | -1 |
| 5 | Bryn Kenney | 4101.49 | - |
| 6 | Nick Petrangelo | 3903.39 | +1 |
| 7 | Dominik Nitsche | 3886.08 | -1 |
| 8 | Tom Marchese | 3861.00 | - |
| 9 | David Peters | 3724.05 | +2 |
| 10 | Erik Seidel | 3690.01 | -1 |
Holz likewise remains the leader of the overall GPI rankings this week, his second week at the top after knocking Steve O'Dwyer off the pedestal where he had enjoyed a 22-week stay. Just behind Holz is Mercier who jumped up to No. 2 in the rankings on the strength of his WSOP streak. With another cash, Mercier could retake the No. 1 spot he last held in September 2015.
Incidentally, Mercier has remained in the top 10 every week since June 17, 2015, meaning this week marks his 53rd-straight as a top 10-ranked player.
David Peters snuck back into the top 10 again this week, going from No. 11 to No. 9 as Stephen Chidwick slipped from No. 10 to No. 11.
Welcome to the GPI Top 300
| Rank | Player | Total Score |
|---|---|---|
| 168 | David Levi | 2074.61 |
| 201 | Randy Ohel | 1950.58 |
| 218 | Javier Zarco | 1905.00 |
| 227 | Matt Stout | 1890.63 |
| 233 | David Stefanski | 1870.88 |
| 254 | Michael Semenov | 1818.19 |
| 260 | Eli Elezra | 1795.86 |
| 261 | Artem Metaldi | 1788.12 |
| 263 | Matas Cimbolas | 1775.73 |
| 267 | Mark Herm | 1769.68 |
| 269 | Paul Newey | 1768.30 |
| 273 | Alex Keating | 1758.60 |
| 276 | Joe Ebanks | 1752.49 |
| 277 | Jiachen Gong | 1751.02 |
| 279 | Giuseppe Pantaleo | 1748.93 |
| 281 | Ricardo Alvarado | 1743.62 |
| 283 | Aleksandr Gofman | 1740.90 |
| 286 | Terry Fan | 1739.24 |
| 288 | Paul Michaels | 1738.13 |
| 289 | Louis Salter | 1738.08 |
| 290 | Wael Sarkis | 1737.81 |
| 291 | Miltiadis Kyriakides | 1727.54 |
| 297 | Sonny Franco | 1722.00 |
| 298 | Anthony Ruberto | 1722.00 |
| 299 | Dermot Blain | 1720.84 |
As the WSOP continues, we expect the list of newcomers to the GPI top 300 each week to be a big one. No less than 25 players jumped up into the top 300 this week, nearly all thanks to success at the Rio All-Suites Hotel and Casino in the many bracelet events playing out each day.
David Levi comes in as the highest-ranked of this group at No. 168, having jumped all of the way up from No. 396 after collecting three cashes so far at the 2016 WSOP.
Randy Ohel also rejoins the top 300 after getting off to a hot start in this year's series where he's earned four cashes, making two final tables already and barely missing two more to put himself in the top 10 currently of the 2016 WSOP POY race. Ohel leaped up from No. 333 to No. 201 this week, his highest-career GPI ranking.
Biggest Gains
| Rank | Player | Total GPI Score | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 254 | Michael Semenov | 1818.19 | +707 |
| 168 | David Levi | 2074.61 | +228 |
| 227 | Matt Stout | 1890.63 | +220 |
| 260 | Eli Elezra | 1795.86 | +154 |
| 267 | Mark Herm | 1769.68 | +145 |
Levi was one of the big gainers this week (looking just at players inside the top 300), with Matt Stout, Eli Elezra, and Mark Herm also making big moves after doing well in Las Vegas. Herm's best finish was third place in the $3,000 No-Limit Hold'em Six-Handed event, during which he stopped to discuss with PokerNews a big hand he played with Daniel Negreanu with less than 20 players left.
Michael Semenov tops the "Biggest Gains" list this week, however, after catapulting from No. 707 to No. 254. Semenov has four cashes at the WSOP thus far (three in $10K events), including three final tables where his best showing has been a couple of fifth-place finishes.
Biggest Drops
| Rank | Player | Total GPI Score | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 282 | Mike Gorodinsky | 1741.83 | -127 |
| 248 | Vladimir Dobrovolskiy | 1832.32 | -68 |
| 211 | Jonathan Little | 1923.63 | -61 |
| 205 | Mark Dube | 1936.84 | -57 |
| 300 | Alex Goulder | 1719.28 | -50 |
Meanwhile, looking at players who fell the furthest this week while staying inside the top 300, the 2015 World Series of Poker Player of the Year Mike Gorodinsky tops this list this week after slipping from No. 155 to No. 282. Expect to see past WSOP heroes like Gorodinsky on the "Biggest Drops" list in the coming weeks as the points from their earlier WSOP scores are affected by the aging factor.
What to Expect Next Week
The focus remains on the WSOP, of course, with the 2016 Goliath Phamous Poker Series at Planet Hollywood, the Grand Poker Series at the Golden Nugget, and the Deep Stack Extravaganza III at the Venetian also ongoing in Las Vegas.
Over in Europe, the Unibet DSO - Costa Brava event at the Gran Casino in Lloret de Mar, Spain highlights the upcoming schedule.
To view the 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.
