Global Poker Index: Colman Still Leads POY; Davidi Kitai, Ole Schemion Make Late Charge

December 18, 2014

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.

2014 GPI Player of the Year

With just a couple of weeks to go, Daniel Colman continues to hang on to the top spot in the 2014 GPI Player of the Year race. Colman has held the POY lead since early November, remaining No. 1 despite not adding any cashes over the last seven weeks.

Meanwhile Davidi Kitai jumped up two spots this week to No. 2 and now sits just a few points behind Colman after having earned a boost for finishing 10th in the recently-completed European Poker Tour Prague Main Event.

That move also positions the Belgian player in the lead at the moment in the GPI European Poker Player of the Year race. However, last year’s overall POY winner Ole Schemion is poised to move back ahead of Kitai next week on the strength of his sixth-place showing in the EPT Prague High Roller event (not reflected in this week's totals).

GPI 300 Top 10

In the overall rankings Dan Smith remains on top for a 17th-straight week, with Schemion still second and Kitai moving up into the No. 3 position, his highest career ranking ever. Meanwhile Pratyush Buddiga leapfrogged all of the way from No. 43 to No. 8 this week, also a career-high for the player from Colorado. Buddiga joins the top 10 after winning the Aria $25,000 High Roller I last week where he topped a field of 59 to earn a $543,683 first prize.

Welcome to the GPI Top 300

With lots of tournaments in action, there has been a lot of movement up and down the GPI rankings over the last couple of weeks, including 22 new names inside the top 300 this week.

Among those joining the list were several who cashed in the EPT Prague Main Event, including Miltiadis Kyriakides (who finished eighth), Thomas Butzhammer (16th), Albert Daher (31st), Omar Lakhdari (39th), Ilkin Amirov (40th), Vladimir Schemelev (95th), Vyacheslav Stoyanov (109th), and Liv Boeree (118th).

Biggest Gains

Players going deep at EPT Prague also were some of the biggest gainers overall this week, with Kyriadides, Daher, and Lakhdari each moving up more than 200 spots in the rankings.

Leo Fernandez made it all of the way from No. 653 to No. 200 after a big week that included a victory and runner-up finish at the BSOP Millions in Sao Paulo. And George Yazbeck collected multiple cashes in Prague this week, winning two different preliminary events to more than double his GPI points and move from No. 748 to No. 253.

Biggest Drops

Finally Nick Schulman and Dan Kelly fell the furthest this week among those keep their spots inside the top 300. Almost falling out of the list was Greg Merson who tumbled from No. 227 to No. 300.

To view 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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  Global Poker Index European Poker Tour Brazilian Series of Poker Daniel Colman Davidi Kitai Ole Schemion Dan Smith Pratyush Buddiga Georges Yazbeck Leo Fernandez Greg Merson

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